


Wolves of the Strawhats

by Venus_Luxia



Category: Naruto, One Piece
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:27:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25082368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Venus_Luxia/pseuds/Venus_Luxia
Summary: Sakumo wasn't expecting Kakashi to interrupt his suicide, and he certainly wasn't expecting to somehow end up traveling around with the weirdest band of pirates the Grand Line could offer. Will he be able to find his way back to Konoha safely with his son, or will he be swallowed up as forces outside his control force a new destiny upon him.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Hatake Sakumo, Monkey D. Luffy & Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates
Comments: 53
Kudos: 227
Collections: Naruto, Time Travel and World Travel





	1. The Land of Giants

**Author's Note:**

> So my first One Piece and Naruto fic. Now, I'm not the best writer, but I hope I can make it enjoyable for all of you! Just a fair warning, a lot about Sakumo will be headcannon since we really don't have much to go off of (moveset, personality, clan abilities, etc.). If there are any huge inconsistencies, please tell me. I welcome all constructive criticism.

They say that a single flap of a butterfly’s wings can set off a hurricane. That one minute detail would forever change the course of history. Forever change the winds of fate as they shift along their new path. Cut off one door and open another.

_ Kakashi ran home, faster than he had ever run before. He ran as if he was still on a mission fleeing from enemy shinobi, heedless of the rain battering against his skin, heedless of the water soaking him to his core. But even then, it was still not fast enough, not fast enough, not fast enough. _

Following this logic, some claim that history is full of turning points; full of events that set off a chain reaction. Something innocuous that even slightly changed would completely alter history’s course forever, would forever change the fate of the world.

_ The young wolf cub burst through the doors of the Hatake compound, not even stopping to change his shoes. He ran, ran, and ran. Thunder rang and shook the very foundations of the building. _

In another life, a young boy may have ignored his father’s sorrow. May have believed it to be a fleeting thing. After all, his father was too strong to be taken down by such inconveniences. He was one of the strongest in the village and despite his disgrace he was powerful. 

_ Lightning flashed and revealed Sakumo’s blade. The rain was pounding against the wall for entry, the wind howling loudly. This was perfect, this way no one would hear, no one would see, and no one would interrupt. Sakumo turned the blade toward his stomach, the tip barely touching it as the white wolf drew in a deep breath. The pain would finally end. _

_ Thunder roared. _

In another life, the young Hatake would come home after his own mission to find his father’s bloodied corpse. His heart closed off to protect him from the pain, to protect him from his father’s fate. 

_ “TOU-SAN!!!!” A feral scream stays Sakumo’s hand for a moment, but that moment was all that his young cub needed to tackle his father. The child wrestles for control of the tanto all the while screaming at his father to stop. _

_ Lightning flashes again, a swipe of an unknown hand, and the two Hatake know no more. _

  
  


_ Little Garden _

_ Sakumo POV _

Sakumo woke up to bright lights and the sounds of birds and insects assaulting his ears. A headache was pounding like a war drum in his skull while he was laying down in what felt like grass. His first thought was that this didn’t look like the Pure Lands in the stories he had heard. Then again, what could the living know about the world of the dead? He just hoped that his son was not too distraught about his father’s death. Kakashi would be far better without him. 

Kakashi!!!

Sakumo bolted up as the memories of his suicide being interrupted by the five-year-old fell down upon him. He really took in his surroundings for the first time since waking up. The color that screamed in from the environment was green. There were trees and ferns that even Sakumo did not recognize, which was saying a lot considering how well traveled the White Fang was. However, he did not dwell much on that; what really drew his attention was the small figure with familiar silver hair lying several meters from him.

“Kakashi!” Sakumo screamed through his mask, quickly coming to his son’s side. He gently shook the boy, hoping that his cub didn’t have any injuries from their fight over Sakumo’s tanto. Kakashi groaned as his sleep was interrupted, but did not stir more. Sakumo quickly ran a quick scan with the rudimentary medical jutsu that Tsunade had taught him to check for injuries. Sighing with relief as he found none, the former jounin better took in his position. 

Both of the Hatake were in a clearing of the forest of strange trees and vines. The flora was so thick that Sakumo could not see more than a few meters into the foliage. He tensed at that, they were out in the open surrounded by easy hiding places. The ex-shinobi pulled down his mask just so his nose was visible. Normally, Hatake wore the masks to help with their rather absurd sense of smell. The sense amplified to the point that it was uncomfortable to have it uncovered for long, but Sakumo was willing to deal with that discomfort to know if there were any enemy shinobi hiding in wait in the strange forest. Another thought occurred to him. How did they end up here in the first place? The last he remembered was Kakashi interrupting his…. He shook the thought away, Sakumo could dwell on that once his son was safe. Or was this all ….

“Kai!” Sakumo shouted while performing the hand signs to break any genjutsu that could have been there. When the scenery remained the same as it was, the White Fang’s heart sank. Not an illusion. Sakumo sighed forlornly as he put his mask back on, what was he going to do now? His body turned to the mountain peaking over the trees hoping that it would inexplicably turn into the Hokage monument. He couldn’t kill himself now, not when doing so would leave Kakashi here in an unknown place that could be behind enemy lines. Sakumo started pacing around, he didn’t trust his judgment after the mistake he made, after his disgrace. However, a decision would have to be made soon for Kakashi’s sake.

A shining light entered his vision as he turned again. He walked over to the source of the flash of light in the grass. There, lying innocently, was the tanto that had almost taken his life as it had taken the lives of so many shinobi. He picked it up, studying the sharp blade. It would be so easy just to end it all. All the sleepless nights, the hisses and insults from the civilians, the scorn from his fellow shinobi, the hatred from the very friends he had saved. The friends that condemned his choice to save their lives over the mission. Screams echoed throughout his head, clouding his senses. Suddenly, he was no longer in a strange clearing. He was back in his study, finally having the strength to end it all. Finally able to clean the blood from his hands that had been present for so, so long.

A silver blur tackled him, the tanto flew out of his hands to the ground in front of him. Sakumo landed harshly on the ground as he belatedly realized that he was pointing his tanto toward his stomach again. He looked up to see Kakashi’s small form panting heavily with a glare directed straight at Sakumo with …… tears? Kakashi never cried, hadn’t since he was an infant. But there they were, the water droplets leaving streaks and wetting Kakashi’s mask as they slid freely from his eyes.

“How could you?!” Kakashi screamed at Sakumo, his voice wavering. Sakumo stared dumbfounded at his son. He had never seen Kakashi show so much emotion before, never seen him break down into a fit of visceral rage and sadness. Never seen tears streak down his face. He slowly sat up to face his son, when he was shocked again when Kakashi buried his head into his father’s chest in a childlike need for comfort. For all of Kakashi’s genius, it was horribly easy to forget just how young his little cub was.

“Don’t ever do that again! Please, Tou-san, please don’t leave me alone!” The voice of his son was muffled through tears and his chest. The fabric there was growing wetter by the second. Sakumo only made a move to awkwardly put his arms around his son. He held Kakashi close to his chest and let the boy release his emotions. The two of them stayed like that for a long while, Sakumo lost track of the time when Kakashi finally lifted his head. 

“Promise me that you’ll never do that again, Tou-san .” Kakashi told him sternly, his voice more mature than any five-year-old should possess.

“I-uh” Sakumo was still at a loss for words.

“Promise me.” Kakashi demanded. And no matter how much Sakumo just wanted to end it all, he couldn’t do anything but agree in the face of Kakashi’s scrutiny.

“I promise and … I’m sorry.” Sakumo simply stated to end the argument. Kakashi studied his father’s face before nodding silently to himself. He got off of his father’s lap and looked around the clearing.

“Where are we?” Kakashi questioned as he took in their surroundings. 

“I was hoping you would know.” Sakumo replied to his son with a teasing eye smile, the look on Kakashi’s face told him how displeased he was with his father’s attempt at humor. Suddenly a loud bang echoed throughout the clearing. The two Hatake turned to the suddenly smoking mountain, Sakumo’s blood ran cold. A volcano? Just where exactly were they, no where near Konoha that was for certain. 

Ironically enough, the Land of Fire wasn’t host to many active volcanoes, and none were near Konoha. In fact, it was named after the prolific wildfires that would plague the region. Then, the ground started to shake.

_ An earthquake?!  _ Sakumo thought hysterically. But wait. It wasn’t a continuous trembling of the earth, it was almost as if ….. 

Giant humans as tall, if not taller than the trees around them suddenly sprang forward towards each other. The ground quaked underneath their massive feet. When their worn weapons met, the sound was so loud and booming that it left a ringing in Sakumo’s sensitive ears. They were talking, but Sakumo couldn’t make it out because his ears had yet to recover. He pushed Kakashi behind him, but he was unsure of what he could do should the two unknowns decide to attack the two Hatake.

Sakumo relaxed as he realized the purpose of the fight. Both giant humans had identical grins on their faces. The one with the large round nose and strange horned hat would taunt the long bearded one who in turn would retort with a quip of his own. Sakumo assumed they were males at least, their voices were deep enough. It reminded him of the spars he would have with Jiraiya and ,on occasion, the other Sannin. However, that didn’t mean they were friendly with outsiders. In fact, if they were like anyone in the Elemental Nations sudden intruders were to be executed. 

With that thought, he signaled his son to follow him. The two Hatake made their way quickly into the forest. Sakumo didn’t want to keep them in the open in case the two did turn out to be a threat. As they tree hopped through the forest without a clear destination, Sakumo could feel Kakashi’s unease growing by the second.

“What were those things?” Kakashi questioned his father from just behind him, his voice still a little shaken from the emotional day he had had.

“I don’t know.” Sakumo answered. Kakashi made a small noise to show that he had heard before continuing.

“Where are we?” The boy muttered irritably and fearfully to himself. Sakumo winced.

“I don’t know.” The White Fang answered reluctantly again. He wished that he could assuage some of his son’s fear, but how could he when Sakumo himself was even more frightened. This place, if it contained giant humans the size of bijuu, then what other horrors and beasts could it have?  _ And will a failure like me be enough to protect Kakashi? _ Sakumo shook the thought from his head. He couldn’t afford to have such things plaguing his mind, not when he and Kakashi were still in danger of the unknown.

“We need to find shelter. Once there, we will have to take stock of what we have and need.” He told his son in his mission voice, the one he knew that Kakashi would follow without any problems. His son nodded as they continued on their way through the tree branches. Right now, it was too dangerous to travel on the ground, better to stay hidden among the branches. The journey was not very hard or long. Sakumo had picked up the musty smell of stale mineral water that he had come to associate with caves and immediately changed direction towards it. The battle between the two giants was still raging, but now the sounds were distant enough that Sakumo started to relax a little. 

They finally came upon the cave, and while it was more open than Sakumo would have liked it was better than nothing and easily defendable once he summoned his pack. He and Kakashi made a cursory examination of the cave. It was strange looking, almost as if it was an old skeleton. The moss and pool of water inside told him otherwise though. At least there didn’t seem to be any hidden traps or entrances within the cave.

“Kakashi, …. what do you have on you?” Sakumo questioned his son. Kakashi frowned and unsealed his bag.

“Some rations, kunai, ninja wire, and chakra pills.” His son responded, the frown still present on his face. From the amount of rations Sakumo could see, it wasn’t even enough to last them for a few days, nevermind how long it would take them to find a way home. Though, Sakumo should be grateful that his son had just gotten back from a mission with some supplies.

“I’ll take some of those ninja wires and kunai, …. I don’t have anything on me but clothes and tanto.” Kakashi eyed him dubiously.

“You won’t do anything stupid with them, will you?” He demanded. The boy had a glare set on his face that somehow looked intimidating with killing intent radiating from him.

“I promise I won’t, I won’t leave you here alone.” Sakumo answered hurriedly. Why was his five-year-old son so intimidating? That immediately placated the boy as he handed his father some of the kunai and wire. With the kunai, Sakumo nicked his thumb and summoned one of his ninken. A cloud of white smoke enveloped the space where Sakumo slammed down his hand. A snow white Shiba larger than Kakashi appeared, she immediately took in her surroundings and questioned her summoner.

“Sakumo, where are we?” The Shiba questioned sniffing around her summoner and his son.

“I don’t know, Yukiko.” The Shiba, Yukiko, immediately straightened her ears and became alert, “I need you to scout around the perimeter for … resources and any clues as to where this place is. Howl if you need backup.” Yukiko did the dog equivalent of a nod before heading off into the woods. Sakumo let out a long sigh and collapsed to the cave floor, and gestured to Kakashi to follow suit. His son shifted uncomfortably in silence for several moments before addressing his father.

“How are we going to get home?” his son asked meekly, it was very out of character for his normally controlled and mature five-year-old. Sakumo hesitated before putting a strong hand on his son’s shoulder.

“First we have to find out where we are … hopefully there will be a settlement we can spy around and gather information.” Kakashi tilted his head at this answer.

“And what if everyone in this place is like those two things?” His son asked, more perceptive than any five-year-old should be.

“Then that will make things easier, they won’t be able to find us sneaking around.” Sakumo reassured, “We just have to avoid any confrontation. I … I don’t know if I could beat them in a fight.” He admitted. His son looked at him dubiously before sighing and leaning his small body against his father’s. 

“Get some sleep, Kakashi … I’ll wake you if something happens.” Sakumo comforted his son. Kakashi was young, and despite being an adult in the eyes of the village he was still a child. Sakumo felt when his cub went to sleep, Kakashi’s weight on his body increased as his muscles relaxed into a soundless sleep. As Sakumo was sitting there thinking over the day’s events, then a sudden thought accrued to him. How did Kakashi get there in time to stop him from his suicide? He wasn’t due to arrive back in Konoha for several days. Sakumo took another look at his son; it’s almost as if someone had warned his son about his father’s imminent doom. But that couldn’t be right, could it?

  
  


_ POV Kakashi _

Kakashi leaned into his father, trapping the man next to him as he tried to get some sleep. It was hard though, so very hard. Almost losing his father like that, it scared him more than he would admit. The genin didn’t even have it in his heart to be mad at Tou-san for his failed mission anymore. Kakashi may be a child, but he was also a genius. He understood something was wrong with Tou-san, he wasn’t his usual calm, kind self. He should have seen it earlier before his father tried anything stupid. Kakashi was grateful to that strange man, the man who had warned him of his father’s imminent doom. When they got back to the village, Kakashi decided he would have to thank that man.

The boy realized he would have to apologize to his teacher for running off and leaving the rest of the mission to him. He was sure Minato-sensei wouldn’t mind after explaining what happened. Kakashi frowned, that was if they made it back. The boy mentally shook his head, Tou-san would find them a way back. They couldn’t be that far away from home. With those thoughts, Kakashi finally succumbed to sleep.

Kakashi woke to something wet poking at his forehead. The young boy cracked open an eye to the amused form of Yukiko. The ninken licked the uncovered part of his cheek, his body still pressed up against his father’s.

“Come on cub, it’s time to wake.” The Shiba insisted, “You need to be aware of our situation.” Kakashi nodded as he bit back a yawn. He looked over to see his father looking worriedly at his summons.

“You weren’t gone for long, Yukiko.” Tou-san stated warily. His eyebrow raised.

“There wasn’t much land to explore, we’re on an island.” The Shiba stated solemnly. Both Hatake’s eyes widened at that.

“How did we get on an island?” Kakashi muttered to himself. He looked at Tou-san for an answer, but the man appeared to be deep in thought. Kakashi found himself subconsciously copying his father’s contemplative hand to his chin. This would have been a fun puzzle to solve if the circumstances weren’t so terrifying.

“Were there any settlements on the island?” Tou-san asked Yukiko, the ninken shook her head. 

“Not that I could see, only these strange gigantic animals and two giant humans. This island looks to be uninhabited, the only boats I could see were wrecked.” Yukiko turned to Sakumo, “Some of those animals look quite fearsome, I wouldn’t allow your puppy near them. You could probably take them, but the puppy not so much.”

Kakashi bristled at that. He was strong, he was a genin, the youngest in the village. Soon to be a chunin if what Minato-sensei kept muttering to himself was true. But then he thought about the strange giants, and he kept his mouth shut. Especially since Tou-san seemed to agree with Yukiko. 

“Thank you Yukiko, I’ll call again if we need you.” Yukiko nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi continued his contemplation while leaning close to his father. 

A loud bang sounded throughout the cave. Tou-san sat up quickly and drew his tanto. Kakashi himself took out a kunai and held it in a reverse grip. Peering through the holes of the cave, Kakashi spotted one of the giants making its way to their cave. His long grey beard swayed with every step, large toothy grin. Tou-san pushed him more into the shadow of the cave. Kakashi could no longer see the giant, but he could hear its heavy breathing and footsteps. The thumps ended with a violent shake of the earth. Kakashi’s hand tightened on his father’s pants at the sound. He felt Tou-san’s hand tighten on his shoulder as the White Fang readied for an attack. 

None came. The child in him was starting to get restless as the seconds ticked on with no more sounds from the giant besides eating and drinking.

“A marvelous fight!” The giant loudly laughed to himself. Kakashi was still kept out of sight from the giant, but he could practically hear the grin that came along with the words. The young boy was tempted to put his hands to his ears to keep the loud sound from assaulting them. But he was rather proud that he didn’t and stayed out in his fighting stance. Good shinobi never let their guard down around an unknown. Though, good shinobi were never as loud as the giant man. With his size, Kakashi supposed that the giant would never be able to dampen his footsteps or hide among the trees. Kakashi wondered if the effect were the same with him and insects. Maybe he could ask one of the Aburame about that.

He tried to keep his wandering mind at bay, now was not the time to waste mental thought on such childish things. Thankfully, Tou-san pulled him out of it when he started making signs in the sign language that shinobi of genin through jounin level used. 

“I’m going to try to make contact, stay here and out of sight until I give the all-clear.” Tou-san signed.

“What if he attacks you?” Kakashi signed back, while he was confident in his father’s ability as a fighter, the man was out of practice and wasn’t at full strength. 

“I’ll retreat into the forest until it is safe to return here. I doubt he would be able to find me once I vanish into the brush.” Kakashi took a moment to go over his father’s reasoning. It made sense, such a large man would have a more difficult time attacking such a small target. Furthermore, the giant likely only knew the lay of the land from his perspective, giving his much smaller father the advantage to hide in places outside of his line of sight. Much like bugs. The boy frowned, why was he always going back to bugs today. 

Kakashi shook away the unnecessary thoughts and gave Tou-san his sign of agreement. Tou-san nodded and headed towards the giant.

  
  


_ Sakumo POV _

Sakumo made his way slowly out of the cave, unseen and unnoticed by the giant. He wanted to make it seem as if he had wandered into the giant’s clearing by accident, like he wasn’t in the cave behind his back. Like he didn’t have a son hidden there. Before making his way to face the giant, Sakumo took a large steadying breath to calm his heartbeat. He couldn’t mess this up. 

Steeling himself, Sakumo made a move to get the giant’s attention.

“Excuse me.” Sakumo’s voice faltered a little, he didn’t even need to fake his nervousness. Although, it was difficult to not suppress the tremor that entered his voice. The giant looked around for a moment before settling his eyes on Sakumo. The shinobi fought against his natural instincts to flee into the foliage when those eyes bore into him. However, when the giant grinned with his tombstone shaped teeth fully visible, Sakumo allowed himself to relax a little at the friendly expression.

“Haven’t seen any sailors here in a long time.” The giant boomed, “And haven’t had a guest for the same time.” The giant motioned for Sakumo to sit. The shinobi was a little dumbstruck. The giant trusted him so quickly? The professional assassin couldn’t help but think the giant would welcome his own executioner with a grin and booze. However, one word stood out in Sakumo’s mind when the giant spoke, sailors. So they were truly on an island then. Yukiko wasn’t mistaken.

“Thank you, but I’m not planning to stay long.” Sakumo sat down in front of the giant.

“HO HO HO!!! Well then, you’re welcome here for the year it will take. I am Dorry, the mightiest warrior of Elbaph.” The giant, Dorry, laughed. 

“I am Hatake Sakumo ... but what did you mean by a year here?” Sakumo questioned. That was an oddly specific amount of time he assumed Sakumo was staying. 

“That’s how long it takes for the log pose to adjust to Little Garden’s magnetic field. I hope you can survive here long enough to make it there, most humans don’t. The wildlife here is quite dangerous to you little ones.” Dorry told Sakumo, taking a bite of a large piece of meat before offering a piece to Sakumo. The shinobi politely refused. Log pose, he had never heard of such a thing. And he had never heard of an island called Little Garden.

“Dorry-san, you wouldn’t happen to know where the Land of Fire would be in relation to this island?” Sakumo asked hesitantly. Dorry gave a thoughtful look.

“The Land of Fire, never heard of it. Is it in one of the Blue Seas?” Sakumo’s heart stopped at that answer. He had hoped that these giants were a secret kept by the Land of Water on their many hidden islands, a foolish hope in retrospect. He was no longer in the Elemental Nations if this giant had not at least heard of the Land of Fire. What was even bigger evidence was that Dorry had mentioned something called the Blue Seas. And then a horrible thought occurred to him. The Elemental Nations had not explored out to the seas around them. Compasses stopped working after some distance from the great continent and the islands around it. At that point the only way to navigate was to use the stars, Sun, and Moon. All of which were notoriously unreliable when the sky became cloudy. The winds also stopped suddenly and giant sea monsters deterred anyone from going further. The few brave souls who tried to go out never returned. 

What if ... what if they were somehow outside of the Great Continent and the surrounding islands? Sakumo inwardly shuddered. If that was true, what did that mean for him and Kakashi? Would they ever make it home? Konoha may have condemned him for his decision, but that didn’t mean that he suddenly thought any differently of it. He loved Konoha, as did Kakashi. His spiraling thoughts were interrupted as Dorry asked another question. 

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” Sakumo asked sheepishly.

“I asked where the rest of your crew is? They are welcome here as well.” Dorry asked. 

“Oh … oh, well,” now Sakumo faced a dilemma, should he tell Dorry the truth or make up some elaborate lie? The logical part of him stated that he couldn’t trust the giant man, but his instincts screamed that he should. And his instincts have rarely led him astray. He quickly came to a conclusion, “Actually, I don’t know how I came here. My son and I just woke up in a clearing on this Island. We aren’t even sailors.” Sakumo added a tad bit more desperation to his voice than necessary, but it looked like it wasn’t needed. The giant seemed to take him at his word and rubbed the top of his long beard thoughtfully.

“So you just woke up here.” Dorry eyed him dubiously and Sakumo started to inwardly sweat. Did the giant not believe him? Was he going to try to kill Sakumo now for invading his territory? “HO HO HO HO, the Grand Line is full of mysterious wonders. While I may have never heard anything like your story, it isn’t the strangest thing I’ve seen on these waters.” Dorry laughed boisterously again. Sakumo was once again perplexed by this warrior, Dorry was acting more like a civilian rather than a soldier. Scratch that, even the civilians had a better sense of self preservation than this giant.

“Truly, you trust my word just like that?” Sakumo couldn’t help but ask. He had never even heard of such blind trust from someone who was a warrior, or was the giant so confident in his skills that he believed he could take on Sakumo should the need arise? 

“HO HO HO HO, why not?” Dorry stated with a wide grin, “Trust has to start somewhere.” Sakumo was honestly speechless. Such a way of thinking was unheard of, even among his fellows in the village. 

“I …. I see.” Sakumo whispered quietly to himself. He wondered what it was like to live in a world like that. Where trust was given so freely. Sakumo swallowed thickly and quickly made a decision, “You can come out now Kakashi!” Sakumo yelled louder than he needed to. There was a short bout of silence before a rustling was heard behind the shinobi. Sakumo was inwardly proud of his clever little boy as he copied the deception. Kakashi ran up behind him, and immediately stood beside his father.

“HO HO HO HO, well aren’t you a tiny human? I didn’t know you could be so small.” Dorry bellowed good naturedly. Sakumo chuckled when his son bristled.

“Then, your too tall!” Kakashi shouted petulantly. Dorry stared at Kakashi for a while. Sakumo started to worry that his son offended the giant when Dorry broke out into a huge grin.

“You’re probably right, HO HO HO!!!!”

  
  
  


_ Vivi POV _

Princess Vivi of Alabasta shifted nervously as they approached Little Garden. She couldn’t keep Miss All Sunday out of her mind. What was she really playing at? Vivi gripped the side railing of  _ The Going Merry _ tightly. What was to become of her kingdom? Suddenly a hand was on her shoulder. Vivi turned to find Nami’s face staring with a reassuring smile. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you home safely Vivi.” Nami reassured her. Vivi let out a deep, calming breath.

“Yeah, we’ll stop whatever Baroque Works is planning.” Vivi smiled and nodded at her and continued to study the island. 

“So,” Nami leaned against the railing and crossed her arms, “Do you know anything about Little Garden? I just want to know what I should keep Luffy away from.” Vivi sighed.

“Not really, usually for those of us who live on the Grand Line we just use Eternal Poses. I’ve never really had a need to learn about the uninhabited islands on Grand Line path.” Vivi confessed, “So I don’t really know what to expect here.”

Nami sighed, “I guess we’ll find out once we dock.” The two girls were interrupted by Luffy’s joyful shouts as he ran around the ship excitedly with Ussop.

“Land, land, land, land.” The two sang arm in arm. Vivi chuckled at the two’s antics. Their pure joy eased much of the worry in her heart. Nami on the other hand, was more annoyed than anything. 

“WOULD YOU TWO SHUT UP!!!” Nami yelled at them. Not too long after, a certain curly browed cook dug his foot into the two revelers. Usopp yelped as Luffy laughed when the two were sent flying across the deck of the ship. The cook, Sanji, yelled at the two for annoying Nami. 

“Shishishishi,” Luffy laughed while dusting off his straw hat, “Sorry, Nami.” The young pirate captain plopped the hat back onto his head. Vivi couldn’t help but to laugh at the crew’s antics. Truly, they were one of the strangest pirate crews she had ever encountered, which was saying a lot since she lived on the Grand Line. But for all the eccentricities, their short time together had shown her they were the kindest. 

_ The Going Merry  _ made her way steadfastly to the island. Vivi couldn’t help but marvel at the plant life. It certainly wasn’t what she expected from an island called Little Garden. The trees were huge with giant fern-like leaves on the top. Even the forest floor was covered in green vegetation. 

“This place looks like a tropical forest, why does it have such a cute name like Little Garden.” Nami commented.

“Maybe there’s a little garden on the island.” Usopp theorized with a hand under his chin. Vivi shook her head.

“No one lives on this island.” Vivi responded, confused. Usually uninhabited islands on the Grand Line like Little Garden were named after some feature of the environment. 

“Why not, it looks beautiful.” Nami asked with a hand on her hip.Vivi silently agreed with her, it looked like one of those tropical resorts she had been to.

“Maybe there’s monsters hiding in the jungle.” Usopp speculated with a trembling voice. 

“I’ll protect you and Vivi-chwan, Nami-swan.” Sanji proclaimed with his usual boisterous attitude that Vivi was still trying to wrap her head around whether she liked it or not.

“Shishishi,” Luffy chuckled with his unique laugh, “It smells like adventure.” He turned to his cook, “Sanji, make me a pirate lunch box.” 

“A lunch box?” Sanji grumbled while taking a drag of his cigar. Nami whirled on her captain.

“Just where do you think you’re going?!” She yelled in his face. Luffy only grinned in response.

“On an adventure.” He cheerfully stated. If that was said by anyone else, Vivi would have considered it sarcastic, but she didn’t think the pirate captain was capable of such a thing, “SANJI MY LUNCH!” Luffy interrupted her thoughts as he screamed at his cook. Honestly, Vivi was surprised her ears still worked. 

“Can I come with you?” Vivi asked the rubber man. Nami's incredulous look combined with Luffy’s exuberant agreement made the smile on her face grow.

“Not you too?!” Nami wailed, “I thought you had some sense of caution!” 

“Why not?” Vivi tilted her head a bit at her new friend, “I’ll just brood if I sit around on the ship. At least this will keep me busy until the log pose resets. Besides,” Vivi gestured to her faithful companion, “Karoo will protect me.” Said duck squaked in horror. Vivi valiantly ignored Karoo’s apprehension and Nami’s sweatdrop. In no time, with food from Sanji, the three made their way through the foliage of Little Garden. Vivi was amazed at the greenery. While she loved the desert, seeing this many plants so densely packed together would always amaze her no matter how many times she encountered it. She and Luffy explored the area a little before a thumping sound echoed around them.

“Hey,” Luffy said pointing towards the treetops, “what’s a Neptunian doing on land?!” Vivi gasped.

“A DINOSAUR!!!” She screamed in fear. The princess was only greeted with the same word from Luffy phrased as a question. She quickly composed herself before answering, “This is a prehistoric island, dinosaurs never went extinct here.” At Luffy’s confused expression, Vivi elaborated, “Because the Grand Line is so hard to travel, the islands have been isolated from each other. Each one has developed their own culture, but some are more advanced than others. Then, there are the cultures that have stayed unchanged for thousands of years. That’s what happened here and it’s why no one lives on this island. It’s stuck in the Dinosaur Age.” Vivi ended her explanation to look at Luffy to make sure he understood all of that when she noticed his absence. She turned her gaze back to the dinosaur and spotted the rubber man on the thing’s neck.

“Hey, get off that thing!” She yelled at him, all of her previous fear forgotten. Of course she was completely ignored as the pirate made his way up the dinosaur’s neck to his head. 

“Don’t worry, Vivi.” Luffy shouted back at her, “This guy just wants to eat grass. I bet he doesn’t even know I’m here. But nevermind him, look at those big caves over there!” Immediately after Luffy said those words, the dinosaur flipped him off his head and ate him. Vivi didn’t even have time to panic before the thing’s head was swiped clean off by …. A GIANT?

“HO HO HO HO!!!” The giant’s voice boomed in Vivi’s eardrums, “Here’s a lively human. I’m Dorry, the mightiest warrior of Elbaph.” Vivi gaped at the man, missing the words Luffy exchanged with him. She had heard of the giants before, but they were mostly found in the New World. What was one doing here? Suddenly she heard a smaller dinosaur behind her. Vivi drew her weapon to defend herself, but another second later the creature keeled over dead. The princess stared at it in confusion.

“So you have your dinner, Sakumo?” The giant asked towards her, Vivi followed his line of sight to the spot where the smaller dinosaur had died only to see a man to the side of it. 

“Of course Dorry-San.” The man answered the giant jovially. He was tall, but not overtly so. Lean, with attire not matching any form of culture Vivi had seen, which was saying a lot since her family descended from one of the twenty royal families that founded the World Government. She had been all over the Grand Line for meetings with other royals and studied the cultures of the known world for her diplomatic training. The forest green flak jacket with one short white sleeve decorated with red triangles and a swirl in the middle with skin tight navy long sleeves on both sides completely stumped her. His hair was also unusual, an iridescent silver that almost shone pulled into a high, bushy ponytail. The world was full of vibrant hair colors, but silver wasn’t one of them. It was only seen on the elderly and this man, despite his mask, didn’t seem to have the skin or eyes of an old man.

“Hello, I’m Hatake Sakumo.” The man, Sakumo, greeted. Vivi responded absentmindedly with her own name. While Vivi could tell he was smiling under his mask by the way his eye crinkled she could see a hint of wariness in his flint black eyes. Vivi only caught it due to her proficiency at reading human expressions. Along with the cultures of everyone on the Grand Line, her diplomatic education also included the tells people subconsciously did to deceive or hide their true feelings. Sakumo looked wary of them, he was studying them like they were some unknown threat. It honestly made Vivi’s skin crawl. Their stare off was interrupted by Dorry.

“You know what?” The giant asked with a grin, “You’re all invited to my place!” 

Vivi saw Sakumo eye the giant, before sighing and taking the dead dinosaur by the tail and started to drag it presumably in the direction of Dorry’s home. Vivi reluctantly followed because it would be rather foolish to ignore the giant’s wishes when he could kill her at the drop of a hat. She just wished that Luffy showed some signs of being cautious around the unknowns. 

It turned out they were not far from the giant’s home, in fact it was one of the caves that Luffy saw earlier. The cave was surrounded by a small clearing with multiple entrances. The giant cooked up the beast he had just killed along with the strange silver man. Vivi noticed he was making two meals with vegetables he had obviously gathered. Clearly the other meal was not for the giant, so who was it for? Dorry offered a piece of the giant meat to Luffy who began munching on it furiously. 

“This is really good, Mr. Giant!” Luffy stated between bites. 

“HO HO HO HO, your pirate lunch box wasn’t bad either, but not very filling.” The giant responded in kind.

“Of course it’s good, Sanji’s the best cook ever! I’d have to knock you down if you didn’t like it.” Dorry laughed again.

“You’re a funny little feller, aren’t you.” Vivi sweatdropped at the giant’s answer.

“Why are they acting like old friends?” She mumbled to herself. Despite her volume being low and being rather far away from him, Sakumo still heard the question.

“That’s just the way Dorry is.” He answered in a soft tone, and his eyes gained a far away look, “It’s rather refreshing, don’t you think?” Refreshing? Vivi thought about how Luffy and the others on the crew had trusted her so readily when she was trying to kill them on Whiskey Peak. How they immediately dropped everything to help a total stranger that was an enemy five minutes ago (well in the case of Nami it was mostly for the money at first, but it was the thought that counted). It was so different than when she had to deal with the other royal families and the marines. Those interactions always had an agenda underneath, she always had to be on her guard to not be taken advantage of or bring harm to her country. Even her own home, which had once been her safe haven, had forced her to put up a facade and measure her word. Be it the concern of her father, the anger of Kohza, or the unrest of her people.

Looking at Dorry and Luffy laughing at each other, making no attempt of culling their words, no attempt to hide their true goofy selves made something in Vivi relax and breathe a sigh of relief. She found herself agreeing with Sakumo, it was refreshing to see. 

Luffy’s puffed cheeks turned at the sound of Sakumo’s voice, almost as if he had just noticed the man’s presence. Which, Vivi thought, he probably did.

“Hey old man, why are you wearing a mask?” Luffy asked Sakumo while taking a bite out of his meat. 

“O-old man, I’m 23.” Sakumo stated firmly, his tone giving away how offended he was by the question. It must have been a sore spot given how Vivi had seen his carefully controlled expression when they had just met. 

“You didn’t answer my question, old man!” Luffy squaked indignantly. Dorry laughed behind him.

“Go ahead, Sakumo.” The giant grinned down at his friend, “Answer the question.”

“You’re both ganging up on me.” Sakumo quietly huffed before pointing to the indent that was his nose was on his mask, “I have a very strong sense of smell. It can get … overwhelming at times. The mask helps me filter through some of the smells so I don’t feel sick all the time.” That was … unusual. 

“Is it from a Devil Fruit?” Vivi asked curiously. Honestly there was a Devil Fruit for anything.

“Oh, no.” Sakumo shook his head, “My family, the Hatake, have developed heightened senses over the years as well as other wolf-like traits and tendencies.” The silver haired man chuckled a little bit, “It’s not that special, really.”

Vivi was honestly shocked. She had never heard of such a thing. Sure there were other species on the Grand Line with heightened senses, but she had never heard of someone who looked like a rather ordinary human to possess those qualities naturally. Just where was Sakumo from? Did Little Garden have a population of humans that no one knew about?

“Hey Dorry, are you two the only ones on this island ?” Luffy asked to be met by another grin of Dorry’s, unknowingly asking the question Vivi had been thinking about.

“There are two others. Another warrior of Elbaph, Brogy, and Sakumo’s tiny son, Kakashi.” A son. Vivi looked at Sakumo again; he didn’t look like the father type. The man seemed to notice her dubious expression and somehow smiled with his mask on.

“He’s my pride and joy, Brogy is babysitting him for me right now. He’s only five, so I don’t like him coming with me when I go hunting.” Sakumo stated, patting his lunch packs. And considering the dinosaurs roaming around this island, Vivi could understand that.

“But then, why are you guys living here?” Vivi asked, she blushed as she realized the rudeness of her statement, “I mean, why aren’t you on your home island? This place isn’t fit for a small child.” Sakumo’s face became remorseful.

“We’ve been stuck here,” he sighed but didn’t elaborate. Suddenly his demeanor turned cheerful, “Brogy and Dorry on the other hand, are here for honor.”

“Honor? Is that a type of food?” Luffy asked which caused Vivi to sweatdrop. Honestly, why were some of the strongest people in the world so stupid?

Dorry’s smile grew bigger, if that was possible, “We have a rule on Elbaph, if a fight occurs in our village and no one takes responsibility, we listen to our god. We battle to the death and the victor will be declared in the right because our god will protect the righteous person.” He laughed his strange booming laugh before continuing, “This island is the place where I have fought Brogy for the past 100 years, and we still don’t know the result! HO HO HO HO!!!”

“You fought for 100 years!?” Luffy exclaimed.

“Us giants have a lifespan 3 times that of a human, 100 years is nothing to us.” Dorry explained.

“Even so, the cause of the fight has long since passed! Do you even remember what you were even fighting about?” Vivi asked. She couldn’t wrap her head around an argument that could last that long. 

“Nope!” Dorry laughed. Suddenly, an explosion echoed throughout the island. The central mountain, now identified as a volcano, had erupted. Dorry got up from his seat shortly followed by Sakumo, “Time to fight again.” The giant stated with a nod from Sakumo.

“Make sure that Kakashi is safe with me before you two start.” Sakumo shot an accusing glare at the giant, who was rubbing his hand behind his head sheepishly. There was definitely a story behind that look, but Vivi figured she didn’t want to know.

“Wait, if you don’t remember what the fight was about then what is the purpose of this battle?!” Vivi yelled before being cut off by Luffy.

“It’s not like that,” He said in a rare display of insight, “it’s about pride.”

“Pride?” Of all the idiotic, stupid …. Vivi gritted her teeth before following behind the men towards where the fight would take place. She doubted any sense could be instilled in them.

  
  


_ Nami POV _

“Listen here, ero-cook, whoever brings back the biggest prey wins!” Zoro shouted at Sanji.

“There’s no need for any type of competition, I can find a bigger animal than you any day of the week!” Sanji shouted back with equal volume.

Nami looked on as Sanji and Zoro left for their stupid competition. Their argument over who could hunt the biggest animal was quickly getting out of hand. She sighed to herself as the last three powerhouses of the crew left the ship; their yells continued on even though she could no longer see the nitwits causing them. First Luffy, and now those two. They had even dragged Vivi into their idiocy, it was of little consolation that Usopp was the only one who shared Nami’s despair.

“How come all of them are like this?” Nami asked the only member of the crew she could connect with right now.

“Don’t worry, I completely understand your feelings. I’ll be there for you.” Usopp stated before acting as if he had a revelation, “So, I can’t rely on you.” He stated looking towards Nami.

“I should be the one who said that!” Nami screamed at Usopp in anger. She took a moment to calm herself, “Wait a minute,” Nami went through her navigational knowledge that had eluded her due to the antics of the crew. “Little Garden, I’ve heard that name before.” 

“Really?” Usopp asked. Nami thought to herself for a long time before the answer suddenly hit her with the subtlety of a flying Luffy.

“Emergency! This island is …!” Nami was interrupted by an ominous figure making its way towards them. The figure eventually became a giant man with a stout build, fan like beard, and horns on his helmet.

“Do you have any rum?” The monster in front of them asked. Nami was paralyzed with fear right beside Usopp who was whimpering. Their terror increased when the giant leaned in closer, “Well, do you have an- AAARRRGGG!!!” The giant’s scream reverberated throughout Nami’s bones, she thought her eardrums would burst from the sheer volume. The giant looked behind him and Nami followed his line of sight to see a dinosaur chewing on his backside.

“A dinosaur.” Nami stated in a shaky voice. The incredulity didn’t last long as the creature was swiftly decapitated by the giant. He then proceeded to raise the poor beasts head in victory.

“I am the strongest fighter in Elbaph, Brogy the Great!!” Brogy shouted.

“Tou-san will be mad at you, Brogy-san.” A small childish voice stated. Suddenly, a boy no older than five appeared on the giant’s shoulder, “He doesn’t like it when I go out hunting.” The child was too far away for Nami to make out any distinguishing features, but the silver hair stood out among the dark colors of Brogy’s clothing.

“Sakumo doesn’t have to know, Kakashi.” The boy, Kakashi huffed before hopping down onto the deck. Nami was laying down with Usopp, trying to play dead while keeping an eye on the two strangers. The strange masked child kicked Usopp so hard that he yelped and flew through the air, landing on his face. Nami was terrified, she had never seen a kid that young show so much strength before.

“I think you broke them.” Kakashi stated bluntly to the giant, “Luckily they're only playing dead, but not well.” The child made a show of inspecting the two of them, “A toddler could do it better than them.” That brat!

“What was that, you brat!” Nami yelled. 

“Apologize for kicking me!” Usopp added, Kakashi only snorted and dismissed the young adults. Nami could only watch infuriated as the brat hopped back onto the giant’s lowered shoulder. 

“Come, guests.” Brogy smiled as he led Nami and Usopp through the foliage until they came across a cave where the giant plopped down with the brat. Nami was too busy glaring daggers at the kid that she forgot to be scared of the giant in front of her. Usopp, however, was shivering as Brogy ate in front of them.

“You’re having a glaring contest with a five-year-old,” Kakashi spoke to Nami with a tilt of his head that would have been cute on a normal child, “That’s just sad.” Nami bit back her instinctual reply and ignored the brat.

“Brogy, can I ask a question?” Nami asked and allowed herself a small smirk at the huff she got from Kakashi when he was ignored. The giant stopped his eating to look at her, “How long does it take for the log pose to reset on this island?” Brogy grinned.

“One year! HO HO HO HO, make yourselves comfortable!” Nami comedically fell over out of her seat in shock.

“No way!” Nami shouted. 

“Yes way.” Kakashi sassed back with a smug look on his masked features.

“We need to get to Alabasta quickly!” Usopp exclaimed. Nami’s mind was reeling, how were they going to get Vivi to Alabasta before her country crumbled to the ground. They needed to get this information about Baroque Works to Vivi’s father and they didn’t have access to any Den Den Mushi secure enough to get the message across. 

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Brogy asked, “Enjoy your time here on Little Garden, I hope you can survive the whole year.”

Nami’s thoughts kept spiraling around what Miss All Sunday said about avoiding Little Garden. But she couldn’t blame Luffy for breaking that Eternal Pose she tried to give them. It was just as likely that Miss All Sunday was trying to give them an Eternal Pose to somewhere else entirely.

“How come you’re in such a hurry?” The brat asked. Nami looked at the child in front of her. Baroque Works had already shone they weren’t afraid to use children on the battlefield on Whiskey Peak. She didn’t want to let out too much information in case this boy was a spy. Of course all of her caution was for not as Usopp immediately answered the question.

“We promised to get are friend, Vivi, back home to Alabasta before something bad happened to her family.” Usopp answered with his arms crossed. Nami immediately slapped her forehead. While that wasn’t exactly giving them away, any idiot with a brain could put two-and-two together. It wasn’t like Viv was an uncommon name or anything. It wasn’t like it was the name of the only child of the King of Alabasta.

“I see.” Kakashi had the gaul to look unsatisfied with Usopp’s answer. The child’s gaze was practically demanding Usopp or Nami to elaborate. Okay, where was this brat’s father? Nami needed to have a long conversation with him about teaching his kid respect for his elders. 

Just before Nami could tell the brat off for being rude, the ground shuddered as smoke came from the volcano. Brogy grinned while Usopp became apoplectic.

“AN EARTHQUAKE?!!! WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!” He screamed, and if Nami was being honest with herself, she wasn’t too much better.

“It's a volcanic eruption, dummy.” Kakashi deadpanned to the two of them before hopping back to Brogy’s shoulder. The fear was immediately replaced by incensed anger from the two Straw Hats.

“YOU LITTLE BRAT!!” Nami shouted so she knew Kakashi could hear her. The giant threw his head back to laugh. She ran after the giant and child to the center of the island. Nami quickly spotted another giant with a long beard being followed by Luffy, Vivi, and a silver haired man that was obviously Kakashi’s father. The brat darted towards his father, stopping before him. The man greeted his son with an eye-smile and nodded to the two giants who immediately started to fight each other at a safe distance. 

“Were you good for Brogy?” Kakashi’s father asked. Instead of a snarky remark, the boy just nodded. Oh, so he wasn’t rude to his father, good to know. However, the need to know about the silver haired man was quickly drowned by the fight between Brogy and Dorry escalated. Their shields and weapons clanged loudly together and groaned in protest as the two giants pushed against each other. The ground shook with their footwork. Both had identical grins on their faces as they continued to exchange blows. Nami was in awe of their strength, it reminded her of the first time she had seen Luffy really get serious in a fight. 

“But, why are they fighting?” Nami asked quietly to herself. Although, the answer she got was not unwelcome.

“For honor and pride.” An unfamiliar voice sounded behind Nami. She turned to where the silver haired man, Kakashi’s father if she guessed correctly, had spoken. 

“Honor and pride?” She asked for clarification. Hearing Luffy's unique laugh, she turned to face her Captain. 

“They’re fighting to the death to settle a long forgotten argument,” Luffy smiled wide, showing his teeth, “They’ve been doing it for 100 years.” 100 years?!

“Why would they fight over something they forgot about?!” Nami asked, she could see that Vivi agreed with her sentiment. Usopp on the other hand, seemed to take on an attitude similar to Luffy’s.

“That’s incredible.” He breathed as he watched the two giants clash again, “That’s what I want to be. A brave warrior of the sea.” Good grief, it looked like Nami had to once again, be the voice of reason for her mess of a crew. Nami sighed as the fight didn’t seem to come to a close anytime soon. She was not looking forward to being stuck on this prehistoric island.

“Welcome to Little Garden, home of giants.” Kakashi’s father smiled as he teased the two obviously distressed females to the whoops of the two boys. Nami had the sinking feeling that this was going to be a long trip.

  
  


_ Elsewhere  _

_ Third POV _

“Do you have the explosives set?” A male voice rang out in the highly vegetated area. 

“Yes, they should go off once the target gets in position.” A more feminine voice answered back. She sounded completely bored with the conversation, after all, she had better things to do.

“Excellent” The smirk was evident in the man’s voice and a black silhouette smiled, “We must not have another failure like Whiskey Peak, Princess Vivi shall not make it back to Alabasta. Dead or alive.” 

“Of course, Mr. 3” The girl’s voice confirmed Mr. 3’ s statement.

“Be ready to fight Ms. Goldenweek, we will strike soon.” Mr. 3 grinned at his companion, who simply nodded. The Princess wouldn’t know what hit her. 


	2. An Enemy Appears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Chapter out! Hope you guys are still enjoying it and are not disappointed in what I have for you. Just to clarify in case anyone was wondering. Kakashi is Minato's student at this time, but he doesn't have a team yet. It was decided that since he was so young when he graduated and any genin team he was on would probably end in disaster Minato would take on Kakashi as more of an apprentice and wait for children closer to his age group to graduate to be put on a team. That's my headcanon anyway. 
> 
> So I hope you enjoy it!

History has a bad habit of repeating itself despite the efforts of revolutionists, humanitarians, and politicians. Civilizations that rise will inevitably fall, ancient religions will eventually reduce to dust, and martyrs are made to inspire and condemn.

_“You can’t be serious!” A young voice rang out in the small meeting room. The man, no boy, who had spoken stood and slammed his hands onto the table in front of him. His bright blue eyes glowered at the older man sitting in front of him. The wrinkled middle aged man took a drag from his pipe before blowing out smoke._

_“You have to look at the evidence, Minato-kun. What other conclusion could we make?” The old man asked in a solemn voice. It was clear from his tone that he didn’t like the situation anymore than Minato did, but that didn’t stop the boy from glaring at his superior. The Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sighed as the young man continued._

_“Do you honestly believe that Sakumo-san would kidnap his own son!?” Minato yelled, his face set in grim determination. How dare they, how dare they slander Hatake Sakumo’s name even further._

It is too often in history that certain individuals are smeared and scorned for their shortcomings, for a single error in judgment that cost millions. It is only long after the fact that people will come to their senses and leave the scapegoat or vilify them for all time. But it is often too late to make amends. Then they vow to never make such an error again. 

_“The wards to the Hatake compound were intact, with no sign of forced entry. Both the ANBU and the Uchiha Police Force have concluded only Hatake-san could be responsible for their disappearance. And since they found signs of a struggle in Hatake Sakumo’s study we can only assume that Kakashi-kun was taken by force.”_ _Danzo stated with a frown and a firm tone. The councilman was struck with how much the White Fang had fallen. First his disastrous mission that started a war, and now abandoning the village during its time of need._

_“But then why would Kakashi-kun suddenly run home in the middle of a mission? He looked worried, and that strange man.” Minato’s eyes narrowed, “How do we know that he didn’t have anything to do with their disappearance?”_

_“If you think anyone can take Hatake Sakumo forcibly without more than a small struggle, I would very much like to know.” The Hokage demanded the boy in front of him. Minato bit the inside of his cheek. He knew, unfortunately, that even in Sakumo’s weakened state, the man would resist violently if he was forcibly taken. Especially so since Kakashi was involved. Anyone that powerful, Minato should have recognized from the Bingo Books._

However, such scapegoating will continue for as long as human society exists. We as humans feel more comfortable with pinning the blame for atrocities that have occurred with a face rather than an abstract idea that reality itself is flawed. 

_“In any case, I motion for Hatake Sakumo to be declared a missing nin. He has obviously gone AWOL and may be planning to permanently desert. Not only that, but he has taken one of Konoha’s most promising shinobi with him.” Danzo stated firmly. Surprisingly, Sandaime Hokage shook his head. Danzo narrowed his eyes at his soft hearted friend, the councilman thought his logic was sound. And from the looks of the others in the room, they thought Danzo was correct as well._

_“Unfortunately, Hatake Sakumo has already been dishonorably discharged from the shinobi forces. He has every right to leave should he choose so, and he is Kakashi-kun’s legal guardian. He has every right to decide his son’s fate whether it be inside the village or not. Under Konoha law, we cannot touch him.” Minato sagged in relief at the Hokage’s words and the looks of realization around the council room, “However,” Minato sat up straighter, “We cannot ignore the fact that a powerful shinobi with a possible grudge against Konoha has vanished without a trace. I will have ANBU investigate where he could have gone.”_

Then there are individuals in history who seem to deserve their scorn, but also cause a fear in the populace so pronounced and deep that it spreads over generations. This type of fear is rare as only the most powerful people to ever exist can bridge the generational gap. What also transfers over, is a fear of any individual who resembles the feared figure in question.

_“If we’re not careful, he could be the next Madara.” As Homura spoke those words, a chill ran through everyone’s spines. Just mentioning the mad Uchiha's name was enough to still and silence everyone in the room. And a nagging thought appeared in everyone's heads. It was possible, Hatake Sakumo would be the biggest and most powerful defector since Uchiha Madara. He had the strength, skill, and motive to attack the village, “We need to make sure that he does not have any plans against Konoha. We cannot afford to have him attack when our forces will be focused on fighting the war he started.” The man continued with a nod from Danzo and Koharu. Hiruzen seemed to agree. All of the students of the second Hokage had seen first hand the destruction Madara caused when he returned to destroy Konoha. They would not let that disastrous piece of history repeat in the next generation._

_“And if he isn’t planning anything?” Minato asked hesitantly, almost afraid of the answer._

_“Then I don’t see why we can’t leave him in peace.” The Hokage answered, leaning back into his chair. Some frowned but didn’t voice their concern._

_“But still,” the current head of the Nara clan, Shikame, cut in in a lazy drawl, “I feel uncomfortable with such a powerful shinobi running around.” Others affirmed Shikame's statement with a slight trembling. Hatake Sakumo's reputation as the White Fang was enough to instill fear. He was one of the few shinobi that had enemy Bingo Books list him as 'flee on sight'._

_“We should wait to pass judgement until we find them,” The Yamanaka clan head, Inoku, added with a nod from Chouka Akamichi, “We could still convince him to return to the village. I think that this whole thing could be a psychotic break due to the stress Sakumo has been facing.” She ended with a thoughtful look, "I would like to examine him myself to determine whether or not that is the case. The Hatake have never been known for their mental health." Her statement caused several in the room to become more apprehensive rather than calming down. The thougtht that Hatake Sakumo could be mentally unstable only heightened the danger._

_“In any case, the police force will continue to search around the grounds for anything unusual.” Hikaru Uchiha stated, arms crossed, "There may be some clues about what happened and where they have gone that was missed in the initial investigation." the Hokage nodded at him in approval. Minato held on to a small hope that the second investigation will turn up evidence that Sakumo-san and Kakashi-kun were both abducted rather than left. He couldn't see either of them doing something like abandoning Konoha like that, and he was sure Jiraiya-sensei would agree._

_“I believe it best that we not inform the public about the Hatake’s disappearance. It would only incite more panic and fear that we do not need with a war upon us. As far as anyone knows outside this room, Hatake Sakumo has become a recluse and removed his son from the shinobi program.” Everyone in the room nodded at Sarutobi’s words, “Dismissed”_

_As the meeting dispersed, Minato couldn’t help but sigh in relief. At least Sakumo-san hadn’t been thrown to the sharks again by being declared a missing nin. If he was, then there was a high chance that a kill on sight order would be placed on him. But he sent a small prayer to the Sage and Kami-sama that wherever Sakumo and Kakashi were, they were safe and in good hands._

  
  
  
  


_Little Garden_

_Zoro POV_

The green haired swordsman gritted his teeth as he observed the beast in front of him. He didn’t recognize it, but it was made of meat. Maybe it was edible? Maybe that ero-cook could make something out of it?

“Hey, are you edible?” Zoro called to the beast in front of him. The horned monster just stared back at him. Zoro shrugged and immediately killed it. Lifting the new meal on his shoulder, he started to head back to _The Going Merry_. He was pretty sure it was to his right. The density of the vegetation seemed to increase around him as Zoro unknowingly headed in the opposite direction of the ship.

  
  


_Sakumo POV_

  
  


Dorry and Brogy’s battle ended with them both being smashed in the face with each other’s shields.

“73, 468 battles.” Brogy began.

“73, 468 draws.” Dorry ended with both of their voices muffled by the shields. Both giants soon after collapsed to the ground. Their spectators were still stunned silent except for Sakumo and Kakashi, who had seen the spectacle many times before. Sakumo didn’t know how he became accustomed to two giants battling it out day after day, but it just became a part of daily life for him. And it satisfied Kakashi’s thirst for battle without putting him in danger so Sakumo had no complaints. And the giants would be able to help whenever Kakashi was in danger. Sakumo didn't trust himself with his cub's safety. He was a failure and failures could only breed more mistakes and with Kakashi, he could make no mistakes. For a while, he was debating on leaving Kakashi alone with the giants, they would be better at raising his cub and Sakumo could finally end his life of failure. But then he remembered Kakashi's pleas and his promise to him, and it became impossible to turn his blade onto himself. 

“HAR HAR HAR!!” Brogy laughed loudly, interrupting Sakumo’s spiraling thoughts, “Hey Dorry, I’ve got some ale from my guests over there. Want some?”

“Of course, I haven’t had any in a long time. Give me some!! HO HO HO HO!!!” Dorry responded jovially. Sakumo smiled at them, but made a mental note to check the ale before the giant drank it. Shinobi by nature were paranoid creatures, and weeks on Little Garden had done nothing to dampen the knee jerk reaction even if it did result in teasing from the giants.

Suddenly, like a slap in the face, the smell of gunpowder flew into his nostrils. From the direction of the ale. Sakumo leapt into action, quickly identifying the barrel that smelled like gunpowder. Carefully and swiftly, the shinobi took it from Dorry’s hand and gently settled it away from the two giants and his cub.

“Hey, Sakumo, what are you doing!?” Dorry yelled as Sakumo carefully opened the barrel to examine its contents.

“I smelled gunpowder.” Sakumo stated simply. The reaction to that statement was immediate. Kakashi sniffed the air and immediately grimaced. Gunpowder wasn’t a smell he found particularly pleasing, but Sakumo had made sure his son could identify it from the guns they had found on the various wrecked ships on the island. One could never be too careful, especially with weapons like that. Weapons that if used correctly could take down a seasoned warrior without even a fight. 

“Gunpower, why would there be gunpowder in ale?” The orange haired woman asked no one in particular.

“You tell me,” Sakumo firmly stated with a glare at the newcomers, “It’s your ale.”

The orange haired one bristled, “It wasn’t ours to begin with! It was given to us at Whiskey Peak.”

“Do you think a member of Baroque Works snuck it in there?” Vivi asked the group.

“It’s definitely possible.” The long-nosed one mumbled with a hand to his chin.

Whiskey Peak? Baroque Works? Sakumo raised his eyebrows and went back to examining the ale. There were no visible traces of the gunpowder, then he spotted it. Forming slowly was a slight discoloration of the ale. As the liquid settled, the odd discrepancy in the fluid came to shape. It looked like … spit? Spit? No, the gunpowder had to be mixed in with the ale or a bomb hidden in there. But all Sakumo could see in there was spit. And if the gunpowder was dissolved, there was no guarantee of an explosion.

“Hey Sakumo,” Brogy asked, leaning down to the shinobi, “Is there really a bomb in there?” Sakumo frowned.

“I definitely smell gunpowder, but all I see is spit.” He heard a gasp from behind him. Sakumo looked to the group of intruders to see Vivi with her hands over her mouth in shock.

“Mr. 5,” She breathed, “It must have been Mr. 5!”

“Eh? That weakling?” Luffy asked with a hand on his weird looking straw hat. 

“And this Mr. 5 is?” Sakumo began, his eyes narrowed towards Vivi. She straightened herself and spoke.

“He’s a member of Baroque Works, he has the Bomb-Bomb Devil Fruit. He can make any part of his body a bomb.” She finished. 

“And you didn’t have anything to do with it?” Sakumo demanded. Vivi looked shocked, her face screwed into indignant rage.

“I would never willingly work for them!” She shouted at him, the orange haired woman and long-nosed man looked awkwardly between them. Kakashi, thankfully, was being good and keeping silent near Dorry.

“And how do I know that this Mr. 5 really is the culprit?” Sakumo tilted his head at their outraged expressions, “Dorry and Brogy both have bounties of at least 100 million. How do I know you’re not bounty hunters looking for a payday? … We just met not even 3 hours ago.” He finished with his hand on his tanto. While he didn’t know the fighting capabilities of anyone here, he was one of the strongest shinobi in the Elemental Nations. Or at least he was before his disgrace. He silently willed Kakashi to stay near Dorry if a fight did break out. Sakumo couldn't protect his son, just like he couldn't protect Susumu and the rest of his team. He'd have to rely on others to do it for him. 

“We didn’t put the bomb there, we’re innocent.” Luffy took on a serious face, something that Sakumo had previously thought he was incapable of, “My crew would never pull such a dirty trick!” Sakumo studied the boy’s face. It was without deceit and not one of a liar. Eventually, he relaxed minutely and gestured to Dorry. 

“Take Kakashi back to the cave.” His cub looked mutinous and made a move to protest before Sakumo cut him off.

“I know you’re strong Kakashi, but until I know what we’re dealing with I would rather you be safe.” He paused before continuing, “I promise I’ll tell you everything once it’s all settled, okay?” Sakumo ended gently. Kakashi seemed to relent with a cute pout and allowed Dorry to take him to the cave. He then turned to the strangers.

“We’ll see, let me take a look at your ship.” Sakumo firmly stated, he tried to portray that he was not to be moved from his decision. The group looked nervously around at each other with the exception of Luffy, who nodded at him. The boy’s scarred face set in determination. Sakumo could only hope he didn't mess this up.

  
  


_POV Kakashi_

The boy sulked as he was carried to the cave in Dorry’s hand. He was strong, strong enough to kill the smaller dinosaurs on the island. Tou-san was underestimating him again. He has been doing that since they arrived on the island. It was a strange change from the quiet expectation and the loud praises from his father and the other villagers. 

Kakashi scowled as he was set down by Dorry. His genius mind was running through what he had heard. There was a bomb put in the ale, spit that smelled like gunpowder, and a possible Devil Fruit. Dorry and Brogy had told them about Devil Fruits; honestly, Kakashi thought it was just childish fantasy. Gaining powers from eating a fruit? Not even a baby would believe such nonsense. But the strangers seemed to believe it. And that boy with the straw hat had smelled suspiciously like rubber. Though his brain seemed to also be made out of rubber, so maybe there was some truth afterall. If so, the culprit would smell like gunsmoke and from what Vivi had said, he was a man with likely 4 superiors above him based on his code name.

Kakashi continued to brood (no Minato-sensei, he wasn't cutely pouting, he was brooding), ignoring Dorry’s attempts at conversation. There was no way he was letting Tou-san investigate this by himself. This was the most interesting thing that had happened on Little Garden. Dorry and Brogy's fights still entertained him, but they got old after awhile. He wanted to prove to Tou-san that he could protect himself and be an ally and not a burden. Kakashi was an adult, he had been ever since graduating from academy. Most adults seemed to think so, except for Minato-sensei and Tou-san. But Minato-sensei was weird and Tou-san had something wrong with him. People don’t try to kill themselves without something being wrong.

The boy genius eyed Dorry, his biggest obstacle to finding the gunsmoke smelling man. He needed to find some way past him. The boy ran through a few ideas. A clone, he could leave a clone behind and substitute with a branch or leaf near the cave. But first, getting Dorry’s attention away from him. 

“I’m going to the cave.” Kakashi told the giant with his arms crossed. The very picture of a scorned child, though it was less of an act than Kakashi would like to admit. The giant nodded at him and rested his back against the cave. Kakashi made sure he was out of sight before performing the requisite hand seals for the clone technique, while it was not a shadow clone, it would still function well as a distraction.

After his clone was situated, the boy genius disguised his scent to keep the dinosaurs and Tou-san from following it using an old Hatake clan jutsu. Aiming for a leaf far into the greenery, Kakashi made his escape using a quick kawarimi. Hopping through the trees, Kakashi kept his eyes, ears, and nose out for any abnormalities in the environment. It was likely that the culprits behind the bomb were still nearby if bounty was really the goal of the plot. Unless it had something to do with that friend of theirs Usopp and Nami were trying to get to some place called Alabasta. It was clear to Kakashi that they were hiding something, they were worse than when Minato-sensei was trying to deny that he liked Kushina-san. 

Kakashi hopped through the forest, not a whiff of gunpowder on the wind when he got the scent of … candle wax. The boy stopped for a moment and sniffed the air again. That was definitely candle wax. And a lot of it. Kakashi frowned, why would candle wax in such a quantity be on Little Garden. People hadn’t been here in ages and no merchant ship in their right mind would use a regular log pose to traverse the Grand Line.

The child shifted closer to the strange candle smell and found … a shack. A run down, ugly shack being bitten down by a dinosaur. Kakashi hid his gasp as the dinosaur’s teeth shattered underneath it. He was about to get in closer to see if the wax was durable enough to survive a kunai attack when he paused. He hid himself further as the smell of gunpowder drifted up to him.

He looked to the source to find a man with skin similar to people from the Land of Lightning, with black unkempt hair in a style that Gai would cry over and sunglasses. Kakashi decided then and there to never introduce the gunpowder man to the annoying bowl cut. Gai didn't need more bad fashion choices to go along with the monstrosity he already had.

“You’re in my way, lizard.” The man, whom Kakashi had guessed was Mr. 5, told the dinosaur before a woman with an umbrella came crashing down on it from the air with a loud bang.

“10,000 Kill-o-Press!!” She shouted right before the attack hit its mark. Kakashi was marginally impressed, but he had seen Tou-san take down dinosaurs much quieter. Silent kills were obviously more impressive than loud ones. Therefore, Tou-san was better than these idiots. 

The two made their way into the candle shack and Kakashi situated himself underneath one of the windows. Why they made it so easy to eavesdrop, Kakashi will never know. His opinion of them was falling quickly. First the loud kill, then the obvious hideout, and now the obvious eavesdropping window. If they were really after Dorry and Brogy, Tou-san shouldn’t have a hard time defeating them. Their lack of subtlety hurt the shinobi inside Kakashi. Even the crybaby in his class had more tact than them.

“Ah, so you’re back Mr. 5.” Another males voice came from inside the shack. Kakashi inwardly preened at being right about his deduction.

“Hmph. Not bad … a quickie house right in the jungle.” Mr. 5 began with the shut of a door before his voice gained a more threatening tone, “Look, this is still our mission. So stay out of it.”

“We won’t screw up again.” A woman’s voice added, presumably Mr. 5’s partner. The other male tutted.

“Screw up? That’s not the issue here. You two are weak.” The other man ended disdainfully.

“WHAT?!” Mr 5 shouted, offended.

“We were just a little careless! We didn’t know the princess had pirates guarding her!” The woman tried to explain. Princess, that was probably the friend Usopp and Nami were talking about.

“You didn’t know?!” The other man’s voice rang out in quiet fury, “we’re professionals. To lose to the enemy and leave corpses lying around is like announcing our existence to the world. We have to execute our missions perfectly.” The other man paused as he took a sip of something. Maybe they would be a problem after all of the other man was their leader, “But because you had the persistence to follow them here we’ll give you thirty percent of the reward. And if that’s not acceptable… I’ll kill both of you right now.” He ended in a tone that sent shivers up Kakashi’s spine. This man was dangerous. 

The silence that enveloped the room was deafening, Kakashi held his breath until the conversation started again.

“Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine, don’t look so perturbed. Have some tea. This is a great opportunity; we can score big on this island without getting our hands dirty.”

“A big score?” Ms. Valentine asked.

“Surely you know about it. Look at this wanted poster. I was shocked when I saw it. Thank you for giving me a chance to come to this island and reap such rewards.” A gasp was heard, but Kakashi couldn’t tell where it came from. His heart started to beat faster. Was that Dorry and Brogy’s wanted poster? 

“This poster is from one hundred years ago. Then, the Giant Warrior Pirates were terrorizing the world. The two leaders of these pirates are the two giants that live on this island. They were known as ‘Blue Ogre’ Dorry and ‘Red Ogre’ Brogy. Even if the original bounty was from a hundred years ago, the marines would still want them.” The other man paused before continuing, “Both of them are worth one hundred millions berries each.” Kakashi could practically hear the smirk from the enemy commander. His tiny fists balled. Dorry and Brogy helped Tou-san be like his normal self, and they were nice even if they constantly treated him like a child. 

“One hundred million!?” Mr. 5 exclaimed. Kakashi distantly wondered why they would choose fruit as their currency. What kind of berries did they use; blueberry or blackberry? He refocused his mind back to the mission when they continued talking.

“If we can accomplish our goal and get a two hundred million berry reward, we’ll all get promoted.” The man stated. So he wasn’t the leader of their organization, interesting. Though Kakashi wondered how they would defeat both Dorry and Brogy. Maybe when the two were weak from their fight?

“So, that’s why you asked me to put a bomb in the rum, Mr. 3.” Mr. 5 concluded. Kakashi smirked. Tou-san had already ruined their Plan A, he wondered how this Mr. 3 would work around that setback.

“That’s right, if we don’t use trickery we can’t beat them.” Mr. 3 said. So they weren’t as strong as Brogy and Dorry. At least he confirmed that their guests weren’t responsible for the bomb, Tou-san was probably collecting evidence to support these statements. A ninja could never be too careful. His musings were cut again to his annoyance by Mr. 3, “As long as you follow my orders, everything should turn out perfectly. If you know how to adapt your strategy, you can defeat anything.” Mr. 3 ended chillingly. Kakashi shivered. 

Kakshi hear the conversation continue, but he should make it back to Tou-san with this information. He quietly turned around only to come face to face with a small three horned dinosaur. The boy inwardly cursed himself, just because his scent was untraceable right now didn't mean he was invisible. It roared in his face as Kakashi quickly drew a kunai. Before it could ram Kakashi’s body with it’s horns, Kakashi ducked and allowed the beast to impale the candle structure. In the split second before the dinosaur could free itself, the boy ninja slit its throat. The horned dinosaur gurgled before falling to the ground. 

“Well what do we have here?” He heard Mr. 3 say not two meters from Kakashi. The genin brandished his kunai in a reverse grip in his right hand while his left was raised in an easy defending position near his chest. Scanning for the other two, Kakashi only found a lazy looking small girl with two braids brandishing a … paint brush?

Behind him, he smelled gunpowder and the sound of footsteps. Kakashi adjusted his position back towards the foliage while keeping an eye on the four intruders. The four stayed away from each other, Mr. 5 picking his nose, Miss Valentine opening her umbrella, and Mr. 3 having candle wax coming out of his hand. 

“Little boys shouldn’t be alone in the jungle.” Mr. 3 said with just the slightest hint of condescension. He eyed the kunai in Kakashi’s right hand, “Or have such dangerous weapons.” Kakashi only tightened his stance in response.

“Don’t even think about it kid.” Mr. 5 stated, holding a booger on his middle finger ready to flick it off with his thumb. Judging by the explosive spit from this man, it was safe to assume the booger was also explosive. The four were at a stalemate until Ms. Valentine flew into the air. Until she was over the boy.

“10, 000 Kill-o-Press she flew down on top of him. Kakashi shifted his stance to the right as she landed hard next to him.

“Nose Fancy Cannon!” Kakahi barely dodged the booger as it sailed past him. But the resulting explosion knocked him off his feet and temporarily knocked the wind out of him. He spotted a black marking on the ground, senses honed for seal traps thanks to the crazy red-headed woman Minato-sensei stuttered around. Seeing no way to change his trajectory into the mark, he kawarimi-ed with Miss Valentine. He had to run, he had to get away. 

“Candle Net!” Wet sticky candle wax covered a wide area around Kakashi and flew with the speed of a kunai before the boy even had time to recover from the kawarimi. The sticky wax quickly hardened around his body. The boy struggled, but he couldn’t move his arms or legs. Kakashi growled as he was lifted up from the ground and had his binds reinforced. 

“Stop struggling, my wax becomes as hard as steel.” Mr 3 boasted, “I had wondered when I would meet one of the people who decided to make this island their home.” Kakashi fought to keep his expression down. Konoha was their home, not Little Garden. But he wasn’t about to let Mr. 3 know that, “Tell me, what is your name, little boy?” Mr. 3 leaned into Kakashi’s face, smiling creepily.

“Tou-san says I shouldn’t tell my name to perverts.” Kakashi snarked in a way he thought was defiant in the face of the enemy. Mr. 3’s candle hair and face twisted into anger.

“I’m not a pervert!” The man shouted at him.

“That’s what all perverts say!” Kakashi responded. Mr. 3’s face was still contorted with anger, but it slowly subsided to a smirk.

“And what would your dear father do when his son is captured by the enemy?” Mr. 3 commented.

“He’d kill you.” Kakashi answered nonchalantly. What else would Tou-san do? Send them to jail, call the police? Shinobi always opt for a permanent solution. The four people seemed strangely startled by his response. Why, Mr. 3 was threatening them with death just earlier. Why was it so weird for Kakashi to threaten them with the same? As if it weren’t normal for someone his age to talk like that. 

“Well,” Mr. 3 swallowed, still disturbed by something, “At least you’ll make a good hostage.”

  
  


_Usopp POV_

Usopp, Nami, and Vivi stared nervously at the man inspecting their ship. Luffy, having been serious for all of two seconds, was excitedly bouncing behind the silver-haired Sakumo stalking the ship. He couldn’t help but think about what Vivi told them about the man and his son. Usopp had never seen or heard of any humans that possessed Devil Fruit abilities (or something similar) through bloodlines. Sure, he was trying to emulate his father by becoming a brave warrior of the sea, but he would privately admit he was a coward. The others on the ship helped him to overcome his cowardness whether it be Zoro’s nonchalance, Luffy’s enthusiasm, Nami’s rage, or Sanji’s cool and candid attitude.

But to have a group of people to develop canine abilities over time was astounding. At first, it was hard to believe, but when Sakumo got up close and personal to see if Usopp’s explosives matched the smell of gunpowder in the ale it was hard to deny when the man could so accurately determine where on the ship he had been earlier. Luckily for the sniper, his human smell was integrated with his explosives because he made each of them by hand. When Sakumo started to make a secondary sweep around _The Going Merry_ Usopp whispered to Nami.

“Why’s he going around again?”

“How should I know?” Nami hissed back.

“Maybe he’s making sure he didn’t miss anything.” Vivi suggested. It wasn't long before their question was answered.They should have known that their captain couldn’t hold any sort of curiosity in for long. 

“Hey old man, why are you going around again?” Luffy asked obnoxiously.

“I’m trying to see if there were any indications that the bomb could have been place while we were on Little Garden… If there were, I could follow the trail.” The man was surprisingly patient with their captain given he had answered several questions like that over the past hour nonstop. Surprising given how much of a brat his son was.

“It doesn’t make sense, he seems like a nice guy. Why is Kakashi-gaki so rude.” As if reading his mind, Nami grumbled. Usopp merely shrugged. Vivi, never having to experience Kakashi speak, just giggled. 

“Hey,” Luffy grinned in a way Usopp and the rest of the crew had come to dread, “Join my crew!” 

Usopp and Nami both facepalmed. They should have known that someone as unique and strange as Hatake Sakumo would be perfect in Luffy’s mind on their crew of misfits. As if proving his weirdness, Sakumo didn’t immediately reject the proposal. He merely tilted his head to the side like a confused dog.

“Why would you want me on your crew?” the silver-haired man asked.

“Because you’re a good tracker, you can hunt down treasure!” Luffy exclaimed. 

“That’s not how it works, exactly.” Sakumo answered sheepishly, “Besides, I can’t just leave Kakashi by himself here.”

“You could take him with us.” Luffy persisted. Usopp resisted to urge to facepalm once again. Did Luffy seriously not see anything wrong with bringing a five-year-old on a pirate crew?

“You want a five-year-old on a pirate crew.” Sakumo deadpanned. Of course, his disbelief was lost on Luffy who nodded in approval, “And what does your captain think about this.”

“I am the captain!” Luffy yelled at the man. Said man merely gazed uncomprehendingly at the rubber man. Sakumo then turned towards Usopp and company for clarification. They all reluctantly nodded. 

“I see.” Was all Sakumo said. He seemingly ended the conversation by jumping off the ship and landing on the ground gracefully.

“Well, I have good news.” Sakumo stated with a smile dancing in his eyes, “You all seem to be innocent. The gunpowder man, Mr. 5, has only been to your cargo hold. Quite some time ago, his scent was very faint, but nowhere else on the ship.”

“Can you track him down?” Vivi asked, biting her lip. Sakumo shook his head.

“From what I could smell and see, he must have planted the bomb before you got to the island.” Sakumo stated coming closer to them, steadfastly ignoring Luffy’s continued pleas to join their crew, “That doesn’t mean they aren’t on the island though. If the attack was really to target Dorry-san, they should be nearby. We should all proceed with caution.” Usopp knew in his heart that the caution part didn’t even register with Luffy, Nami seemed to have a similar opinion as she sighed to herself. 

“Though I did smell two others that aren’t here, one smelled faintly of metal while the other had garlic covering most of their natural scent. The garlic one was in the kitchen the most and the metal one on the deck. Are those two crew mates of yours?” Sakumo asked at length. Nami sighed again, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

“They are, Zoro and Sanji.” Nami sighed again reflecting what Usopp was feeling towards the two strong crew members, “Those idiots left on their own after an argument.” 

Sakumo hummed as if he understood, Usopp wondered who he knew that was similar to their chef and swordsman. Suddenly, they were all thrown off balance as the ground shook. Usopp looked up to see one of the warriors he had come to admire running towards them, causing the ground to quake with every step.

“Sakumo! We have a problem!” Dorry shouted, running up to the ship. The ground shook violently as he stopped, almost knocking all of the regular sized humans down with the exception of Sakumo. 

“Dorry what’s the matter?” Sakumo asked, somehow unaffected by the shaking ground. The man tilted his head, “And where’s Kakashi?” Sure enough, Usopp looked towards the giant’s shoulders to see the little hellion was missing. 

“That’s exactly what’s wrong, Brogy and I can’t find him. He’s missing.” As Dorry finished Usopp’s hair stood on end. An overwhelming fear overcame him, but it wasn’t from the thought of Kakashi being missing. The little brat had probably wondered off somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be. No, it was the mindless terror that prey got when face to face with a predator. As suddenly as it began, it stopped. 

“Where did you last see him?” Sakumo asked coolly, with none of the warmth or kind tolerance in his voice previously. It was as cold as ice. Usopp shivered. 

“The cave, he just suddenly popped into smoke!” Wait, what had Dorry said?

“He turned into smoke?” Usopp asked incredulously. 

“A clone.” Sakumo answered. It honestly caused Usopp to have more questions. Clones? Did Kakashi eat a Devil Fruit? “It’s likely that he tried to look for Baroque Works on his own. I should have known, he’s always overestimated himself.” The man snarled, “If they hurt him, I’ll kill them.” It wasn’t hyperbole, Usopp could tell by his tone. It was like facing down Kuro, a remorseless killer striking down any in their way.

An explosion sounded from the mountain. Dorry made to move before stopping, looking at Sakumo. 

“Go, it’ll look too suspicious if the two of you stop fighting even once.” The man growled. Dorry left quickly after. 

Sakumo leapt into the jungle with Luffy quickly following behind him. Usopp shared a look with Nami and Vivi. He silently prayed that they wouldn’t say what he thinks they were. 

“We have to help.” Vivi stated, “He’s just a child.” Vivi seemed unmovable in her decision and Usopp once again got a glimpse of the strong princess that she was.

“As much as I want to strangle the brat, he’s only five.” Nami continued. Usopp started to sweat. They were going to search through the jungle. A jungle full of man-eating dinosaurs, and dangerous Baroque Works members. He shivered, but what if those criminals hurt the kid? What if they killed him? 

“L-let’s go” Usopp stuttered, trying very hard to suppress the coward in him. The three of them set out to the jungle together. They called out for the boy’s name intermittently. Their worry increased at each unanswered call. 

“You would think that he would leave behind some sign.” Nami muses as she moves a large fern, “It isn’t a big island.”

“Wait a minute,” Vivi stated, “I just thought of something.” Usopp looked towards the newest member of their crew in interest, “Sakumo said he was 23 years old, so that must mean he had Kakashi at 18 when he was our age.” 

“Really?” Nami asked. Usopp could understand. He tried thinking about having a kid at his age. A shudder of fear ran through him along with a fantasy with Kaya and a long nosed baby that he shook away. 

“It’s just … where’s Kakashi’s mother?” Vivi asked, “She must have been young with Sakumo being so young himself. Why isn’t she here with them?” That was true. Kakashi was only five, he hadn’t mentioned a mother so maybe she was already dead? Or maybe she just didn’t want anything to do with them? Usopp shook the thoughts from his head.

“Maybe we can ask after we’ve found Kakashi.” Usopp suggested. Of course they didn’t want to pry, but their crew was curious by nature. And if Luffy’s track record of bothering people into joining the crew held true, Sakumo and Kakashi would be joining them eventually. Usopp looked around for good measure when he noticed something.

“Hey, where’s Nami?” Usopp asked hesitantly. Vivi frowned at him.

“What do you mean, she’s right over …” Vivi trailed off as she noticed Nami wasn’t where she thought she was, “But she was right over … oh there she is!” Vivi suddenly exclaimed, rushing into the brush. Usopp would have followed her, if he didn’t see the silhouette of Kakashi. 

“I found Kakashi!” Usopp exclaimed, but when he got closer it looked like a … wax statue of the kid? Then, suddenly everything went black. 

  
  


_Luffy POV_

Luffy bounced happily behind the old man he searched around Dorry’s cave and its surroundings. The pirate captain didn’t really know what the man was searching for, but it looked cool. Although, he couldn’t help but be a little worried for the kid, he was sure Kakashi was fine. After all, he had been thrown into the jungle when he was a little older by Gramps and Mr. what’s it and Miss what’s her face were weak. They didn’t even put up a fight on Whiskey Peak.

“No choice.” Sakumo muttered under his breath.

“No choice for what?” Luffy asked. Fortunately, his question was answered. Sakumo nicked his thumb on a weird looking knife and did weird hand signs. When he slammed his hand into the ground a puff of smoke appeared. When it cleared a bright white Shiba dog appeared, “COOL!” Luffy exclaimed, stars in his eyes. He definitely needed Sakumo to join his crew now. He was so cool, and he had white hair like Gramps so that means he was strong. 

“Yukiko, Kakashi is missing,” Sakumo began, Yukiko perked her ears up in alert, “Can you find his scent anywhere.” 

“I’ll try, but you know that your nose is just as strong, if not stronger than mine. And the puppy is good at hiding his scent. I’m probably not going to have more luck than you did.” Yukiko told Sakumo. He can make talking dogs appear out of thin air? SO COOL!

“Just, please try.” Sakumo begged. Yukiko sighed and nodded as she made her own sweep of the area. Sakumo put down his mask a little and his face twisted weirdly.

“What’s wrong, old man?” Luffy asked.

“It’s just, a lot of smells at once. A bit of sensory overload. I can’t make heads or tails of what I’m smelling. Why are the scents so strong here?” Sakumo answered confusedly.

“So they’re mystery smells.” Luffy concluded. That made perfect sense.

“That’s one way of putting it.” Sakumo said absentmindedly. It was like only half of his mind was paying attention to him. Ace got like that when he had something else on his mind. Maybe it was Kakashi? Luffy guessed Ace would be in a similar state of mind if he were missing, maybe more violent and explosive. Yeah, Ace would’ve just burned down the whole forest already.

“He’ll be fine.” Luffy assured Sakumo. The man turned to him almost as if he had just noticed his captain’s presence, “Kakashi is strong, right? You have to believe he’ll be okay.” Sakumo stared at him for a few seconds before growling.

“And if someone did hurt him?” Sakumo demanded.

“Then you kick their ass.” Luffy simply answered. At least that’s what Ace always did, he always acted cool, “Besides, Zoro and I beat Mr. Die and Miss Chocolate on Whiskey Peak.” Sakumo chuckled a bit.

“The stupid looking human is right Sakumo, you always jump to the worst case senario that you can’t see what’s right in front of you. Like the perfume blocking your sense of smell.” The dog said. Sakumo paused for a little before asking.

“Perfume?” He asked. Now that Luffy thought about it, it did smell like those awful girly things that Nami and Vivi liked to put on. But it was different somehow.

“Perfume.” Yukiko affirmed, “and from the smell of things, strong ones that were specifically meant to impede your sense of smell.” She tilted her dog head to the side like Sakumo did on _The Going Merry_ , “mistakes like that aren’t like you Sakumo, you should’ve known that from the start.” Sakumo seemed to take forever to answer. Like he was having a battle inside his mind. 

“You’re right” he finally answered, sounding like he was far away. Luffy didn’t like that. 

“So what are we going to do old man?” Luffy asked, mostly to get the man’s attention back on him.

“Dorry and Brogy,” Sakumo answered to Luffy’s confusion, “if Kakashi wasn’t captured he would be watching Dorry and Brogy fight.” Luffy grinned.

“Let’s go then!” Luffy exclaimed, neither of them noticing how quiet it had grown on the island.

  
  


_Sanji POV_

Stupid swordsman, stupid captain, stupid sniper, if Nami-swan hadn’t been on the crew he would’ve reconsidered joining. He could only hope that Vivi-chan would stay after fixing the situation in her country. Though that was not something Sanji wanted to think about. Realistically, Sanji knew that she couldn’t stay forever, but he didn’t want to think about that right now. What he was focused on was winning his challenge with the moss head. 

He was reduced to just wandering through the vegetation until he came upon an unusual sight. The weirdest looking house he ever saw. It was made out of wax with a window and wax door. The house itself was tiny and completely obvious against the foliage.

“Weird.” Sanji muttered as he came closer to examine the house, no shack. He opened the door and entered to find a homely and comfortably decorated room. In it were a tea set available as well as chairs and a table with a floral table cloth on top. The owners must have been not too far away since he could still see steam coming out of the tea cup. Taking a sip, he looked around the room for any other signs. It was really weird to find someone living on an uninhabited island.

Suddenly, he heard the distinctive ringing of a DenDen-Mushi. After finding the snail in a box in the far right corner, he set it on the table and answered it on instinct.

“Hello , this is a restaurant. What do you want to order?” He stated half jokingly half instinctively. Damn that old geezer for making him take call when he was working at the Baratie. 

“Stop playing around, idiot. Why didn’t you send your report?” A gruff voice demanded from the other side of the line. Only slightly distorted from coming through the line.

“Umm … who are you?” Sanji asked after a slight pause.

“It’s me Mr. 0.” The gruff man answered.

“Mr. 0 …” Sanji repeated quietly. Wait a minute. Could it be the same man in charge of Baroque Works that Vivi was talking about. The same man who was driving her country to ruin. One of the 7 Warlords backed by the World Government!

“It’s already been quite some time since I sent you my orders. What is your status Mr. 3?” Mr. 0 continued. Sanji stayed silent, debating on what he was supposed to do and working on getting control over his anger that a beautiful woman was being threatened by this man. “What are you being silent for? I’m asking you a question, have you eliminated Princess Vivi and the Strawhat Pirates or not?” Mr. 0 was starting to get impatient. He needed to think of something fast. 

“Yes, I’ve carried out my mission alright. All the people who know of your secret are now no more, so there is no more need for further pursuit.” Sanji said in his usually suave voice. At least this way they might stop running into agents from Baroque Works for a time.

“I see.” Sanji could hear the man’s smile on the other line, “Good work. The Unluckies are headed your way right now. Once they confirm your mission’s success, they’ll hand you a certain package.” Mr. 0 continued.

“The unluckies, a package?” Sanji asked. 

“That’s right, an eternal pose to Alabasta. Once you receive it, head to Alabasta with Ms. Goldenweek immediately.” Sanji made a small noise of confirmation, “The time has come … we must carry out the most crucial step of our plan. You will await further details once you arrive in Alabasta” Just as Mr. 0 finished, Sanji spotted two strange animals at the open window next to him. A weird looking bird vulture thing and some sort of mammal. Both were wearing sunglasses and an ugly flower pattern and polka dot clothing respectively.

“The hell?” As soon as Sanji exclaimed that the bird lowered it’s back to reveal two canons. The bear mole creature brandished two seashells with four blades attached in a fan pattern.

“What’s the matter?” Mr. 0 said over the DenDen-Mushi. Sanji realized belatedly that he had cursed out loud.

“No it’s n-“ He began before being cut off when the bird suddenly fired at him, causing Sanji to jump back in order to avoid being blown to bits, “Gah! What the hell are they!” He exclaimed as he dodged the monkey thing stabbing at him with the seashells.

“Trying to kill me are you now. That’s some big balls you’ve got you damned dirty four eyed monkey!” Sanji grunted as he kicked said monkey into a wall, “Didn’t I tell you to quit it you overgrown chicken!” He yelled as he backflipped to bring both his heels onto the bird. Locking the head in between the feet, he twisted and brought the head down to the ground. With both of the animals out of commission he calmly returned to the DenDen-Mushi.

“What happened?” Mr. 0 demanded, sounding very angry.

“Oh, never mind that. It’s really nothing. One of the Strawhats turned out to be just barely alive but I finished him off so no need to worry.” Sanji decided to stay in character, just in case he could salvage the deception.

“One of them … was alive?” Mr. 0 growled out. Sanji felt a shiver run up his spine as primal fear gripped him, “Didn’t you just say, you had carried out your mission successfully?” 

“Ah, well I thought I had. But one of the buggers was a lot more tenacious than I thought.” Sanji stated, getting his irrational fear under control.

“So in short, you had given me a false report at that time…” Mr. 0 trailed off threateningly. Sanji was suddenly very glad he wasn’t working for Baroque Works. Sorry Mr. 3.

“Well, I suppose that’s true if you want to get technical, but I really did finish him for sure now. There’s no need for further pursuit.” Sanji agreed and added for good measure. It wasn’t like it was his neck on the line for giving Mr. 0 a false report, and it would keep the crew safe for a time.

“Fine,” Mr. 0 bit out, “Just head for Alabasta straight away then. This will be the last time I contact you by DenDen-Mushi. I can’t afford the Marines to intercept any of our calls. From hereon, all orders shall be delivered the traditional way. That is all, Mr. 3.” The call was cut off suddenly as the snail closed its eyes and fell asleep. Sanji sighed as he contemplated what just happened. He ensured Baroque Works wouldn’t hunt them down until they reached Alabasta. 

He stood and walked over to the strange animals that were still passed out on the floor in front of him. Just as he was contemplating what they were, he spotted a fancy looking log pose rolling away from the badger mole. He picked it up to inspect it. His eyes widened in shock and surprise.

“This is …!” 

  
  


_Third POV_

Vivi was the second to come to. However, she didn’t count that as much of a blessing at the sight of Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine. Jumping off the ground quickly, she took out her weapon with a war cry and started to swing it around her pinkie finger. She swiped at him, only to be thrown off by an explosion near her feet and caught by the throat. Vivi choked as her throat was painfully squeezed by Mr. 5 and forced to carry the burden of her body weight. Further away, Nami struggled against her candle wax restraints to try to reach her friend, but it was useless. They were as hard as steel, and she didn't have the strength to rip through it. 

Usopp woke up to the sound of Vivi’s cry and witnessed her subsequent defeat by Mr. 3. Panicking, he reached for his bombs and slingshot only to find them missing. Soon after, Ms. Valentine landed on him and increased her weight to subdue him. The man was all too easy to subdue with just her Devil Fruit. How predictable that he would be too focused on the princess to notice her attack coming. 

Mr. 5 dangled the princess from her throat, slightly choking her, “You’re lucky that Mr. 3 wants to kill you for himself.” Honestly, he thought this was a waste of time, but who was he to question the brass. Vivi choked and cursed Baroque Works from the bottom of her heart.

“VIVI! USOPP!” Nami yelled as Mr. 5 threw the blue haired woman towards Mr. 3 who restrained her with candle wax.

“I won't kill them yet, we need to use them as hostages against Strawhat and this brat’s father.” Mr. 3 told everyone there, grinning maniacally. Kakashi was tossed unceremoniously to the ground near Nami, his face angry and defiant. He was quickly joined in the pile of hostages by a disoriented Zoro. The swordsman was more confused than anything, why was he here? Who was the kid? There were giants on the Grand Line? The two said giants covered in candle wax tried to move when Kakashi was tossed non-too-gently into the pile of people, but were unable to due to exhaustion from their fight and the strength of the restraints. 

“You won’t get away with this!” Vivi hissed as Usopp was restrained as well. Mr. 3 grinned down at his hostages with an apathetic Ms. Goldenweek behind him munching on a snack.

“On the contrary, I think I will be winning this one. Bounties and a new test subject.” Mr. 3 ended his tirade by looking towards Kakashi, “I’m sure our organization and the World Government will be very interested in you and your father.” Vivi felt her blood run cold. It was true, she was under no illusions that the World Government would be very interested in being able to replicate Devil Fruit like abilities on a large scale through genetics like with Sakumo and Kakashi. And she was under no illusions the lengths and tortures the two would endure in the World Government's pursuit of power. 

“Pervert! Tou-san will kill you for this!” The boy yelled. He unnerved most of the adults in the area with his attitude. Why wasn’t he bawling or begging to be let go like most children his age would be?

“I’m not a pervert!” Mr. 3 kicked the boy’s side, causing the boy to fly into a very, very confused Zoro. 

“Hey!” Nami shouted on Kakashi’s behalf. She may not like the kid, but she would be damned if she ignored blatant child abuse.

“You are dead! Tou-san’s dogs will rip you to pieces!” Kakashi yelled back at the stupid men and women. How could they think they could beat Tou-san? Tou-san was invincible, he had been training while on Little Garden and was strong even in his disgrace. No one but maybe Hokage-sama could beat him.

“Kakashi shut up.” Vivi whispered to the child. While it was heartwarming to see the faith in his father the boy had, now was not the time to antagonize their opponents. That didn’t stop a heavy boot from falling on the kid’s back. Kakashi let out a pained hiss. 

“Unfortunately, by the time your father and that Strawhat arrive, it'll be too late." Mr. 3 smirked at the young boy in front of him, "I made sure he couldn't track us down by dousing everywhere he could get a scent on us with perfume." Kakashi growled at this, and Nami wondered if that would be enough to really stop Luffy and Sakumo from saving them. "Now, I think I’ll start my Tokudai Candle Service Set!” Mr. 3 stated as a giant candle cake with a pillar to a candle pumpkin head materialized practically out of thin air. On top of the pumpkin were more candles that lit up as the top started to spin. The Strawhats and giants became a part of the sculpture while Kakashi was kept next to Mr. 3, "It's our victory today, princess." Mr. 3 smirked cruelly at Vivi who growled in return. She could not let Baroque Works win. She had to save her country! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, chapter 2 down. The next one might be awhile. This semester is killing me and I got most of this written when summer was still a thing. And anyone wondering who the Susumu Sakumo mentioned in the chapter is, he's an OC that may or may not have a larger role later on. He was on Sakumo's team when the mission failed. He's mentioned by name because he was on Sakumo's genin team and is Kakashi's godfather. Susumu isn't in Naruto canon because he died early of alcoholism over guilt of driving Sakumo to suicide. Like I said, he's probably going to be a side character or just mentioned for now, but may become bigger in the future.
> 
> That said, please give me feedback on what you liked, what you didn't, and what I could improve on. Hope you all are staying safe during this weird and trying time!


	3. Battle of Little Garden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so this isn't as edited as I usually do it. I'm not happy with it I just wanted to get it out because I figured you guys have waited long enough. So sorry if this seems a little choppy. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter out sooner. There is an outline for this story, but it resembles Shroedingers Cat at the moment in its amorphous qualities, but the beginning is pretty much set in stone. I may come back and do edits on this chapter just to let you know. I also suck at writing fight scenes so there's that.

History has a bad habit of repeating itself despite the efforts of revolutionists, humanitarians, and politicians. Civilizations that rise will inevitably fall, ancient religions will eventually reduce to dust, and martyrs are made to inspire and condemn.

_ The cold seemed to permeate throughout Drum island as the eternal winter wonderland produced a fresh blanket of snow upon the towns situated on the island. The snow covered the burned buildings, the corpses of victims, and the smell of death that was laid in wake of the attack from that wretched pirate. The one called Blackbeard. Many townsfolk continued in the chore of rebuilding their homes, grateful that both the pirates and their tyrant king were gone. Maybe now they could finally live in peace.  _

It is too often in history that certain individuals are smeared and scorned for perceived wrong doings. The people gone down in history as either false heroes or false villains. History is written by the victor and many times that history reflects the ideals and perceptions of the victor while the other side is lost to time.

_ The cold was interrupted by a strange man. He stood out among the people of the island as an obvious outsider. He wore colorful colors of oranges and reds contrasting with the townsfolk's more muted hues. He had a bright orange hat with two faces on it that practically dared anyone to look at him in the white and black landscape. Most odd though, was that he was not wearing a shirt and seemed unbothered by the cold. In fact, the snow seemed to melt with every step he took. Dalton, the newly elected leader of Drum island eyed the stranger suspiciously. He would not engage though, he dare not for he saw the tattoo the young man had on his back. The symbol of the Whitebeard Pirates. And like all on the Grand Line, Dalton knew better than to pick a fight with one of the Yonko's subordinates.  _

_ "What is your business here?" Dalton stated simply, best to keep things simple with the pirate. _

_ "I'm sorry to intrude, but I heard a man I was chasing was here," the young man stated in a polite tone of voice, "A man named Marshell D. Teach." at this, the man's eyes narrowed in anger. Dalton was almost glad, maybe that monster would be stopped if he earned the ire of the Whitebeard Pirates. _

However, such revision of history will always occur as the loser seldom has a voice in what is written down. It is up to later generations more often than naught to dig up the martyrs of the past and the false villains that were berated and condemned as purely evil. 

_ "You just missed him, he was here a couple of days ago." Dalton stated, gesturing to the wreckage around them. The man tsked and lowered his hat in respect.  _

_ "I'm sorry I didn't make it in time to help." He stated, bowing to Dalton, "Please accept my apologies." Dalton was bewildered by the pirate's manners. Why was a member of the White Beard Pirates treating him so respectfully? _

_"It's fine," Dalton paused before_ _continuing, "The attack may have been devastating, but our king fled during the chaos. He was a dictator and the worst kind of scum."_

_ "I see, though I hope you don't harbor any gratitude to Teach, he did something unforgivable and it is my duty to kill him." the pirate's eyes narrowed and gained a distant gleam to them. Dalton could only imagine what Teach had done to gain the ire of a Yonko's subordinate. Or the Yonko himself. Whitebeard was a fearsome entity known more so in myth than actual fact, the people of Drum island would never dream of crossing him. Though it was unusual for them to have dealings this far away from the New World.  _

_ "Trust me, there is no love lost between us. He killed too many of our people to offset the unintentional good he has done." Dalton reassured. It was the truth, were it within his power, he would have killed Teach himself. But, the events that transpired already proved just how outclassed Dalton was when it came to the man. His unhealed wounds ached; Dalton was just lucky he was able to survive the fight. _

Then there are the martyrs that are used by higher powers. People whose crimes were only being born sent to the gallows by a dictatorial government. Such executions are always to induce fear in the masses, but many times inspire their adversaries.

_ "That's good, I suppose I'll be on my way then, unless you need anything?" The pirate offered. Dalton hesitated before shaking his head. While they did need the help, the people of this island were unlikely to accept it from an outsider, and a pirate at that. It would probably cause more problems than good. The man nodded and with a polite tip of his hat, turned around and started heading towards the ocean. As Dalton was about to return to work the man suddenly stopped and addressed him. _

_ "I'm sorry to ask this, but can you do a small favor for me?" Dalton hesitated to answer the pirate's question. On one hand, he was a pirate on the other, he had been polite and respectful throughout their meeting. Quickly coming to a decision, Dalton nodded. The man smiled broadly, "A boy named Monkey D. Luffy might come to Drum island. If you see him, tell him Ace will meet you in Alabasta." _

_ Little Garden _

_ Third POV _

The whipping of the pumpkin head with candles had started in earnest. It was fast enough that the face became a gray blur as the loud sound swooping emanating from the top increased. 

“Now I know how it feels to be a candle on a cake.” Zoro stated while looking up at the pumpkin head. He was very confused still, were these people with Baroque Works? Based on Vivi’s reaction he would assume so. Though he was more concerned with the unrelenting hold the wax had on his legs.

“I can’t move my legs.” Nami grunted as she attempted to remove her feet from the candle wax. She was annoyed more than anything with these turn of events. Not only that, the wax felt strange and uncomfortable.

“He’s immobilized us and I have a feeling it’s not because he enjoys our company.” Zoro stated. It would have been a quip, but the rest of the crew knew that the swordsman was being completely serious.

“What’s this stuff raining down on us!!” Vivi panicked as her mind raced, trying to remember what she knew about Mr. 3. Unfortunately, nothing of the sort came to mind. Baroque Works was highly secretive and even if she was spying on them the higher members still remained very elusive.

“It’s sticking to us!” Usopp shrieked as the white flakes rained down and stuck to his skin. He tried to wipe it off only to discover it was still there.

“HAHAHAH Savor it!! My Extra Special Candelabra!! The waxy mist raining down on your head will soon turn you into wax figures! Not even my skill in the arts could create such perfect human figures.” Mr. 3 grinned as he observed his new wax sculptures, “You’ll be wax figures with real souls! Die in the name of art!”

“So you’re stupid and a pervert. Why would you tell them all of that?” Kakashi snarked, already getting bored with these stupid people. These bandits or whatever they were were really dumb. Why didn’t they just kill them if they wanted them dead? Why drag it out when they know Tou-san could arrive at any moment?

“Shut up!” Mr. 3 shouted while slapping Kakashi on the back of the head. This brat was seriously starting to piss him off. His fury increased when he saw the brat glare and growl animalistically at him.

“Forget it! We don’t want to be your stupid art!! Brogy, Dorry do something!” Nami yelled at the two giants. The two eyed each other before beginning to struggle in earnest.

“I will not allow our struggle to end in such dishonor!” Dorry yelled as the candle wax quacked under the strain of keeping the giant at bay 

“I shall destroy you by my own hand!” Brogy joined his companion in his struggle. The ground shook under the strain. The restraints around their hands shattered and Mr. 3 had to hold back a shiver at the sound. With a loud crack, the wax broke free and clanged to the ground. The struggle was stopped when sudden explosions encompassed the two giants. Mr. 5 stood with both of his index fingers pointed towards Dorry and Brogy. It was obvious that he used his explosive boogers on the two. Zoro inwardly shuddered at the memory of that disgusting thing hitting his sword. Never again, he decided, never again. Mr. 3 grimaced at the scene before him.

“It appears that I’ve underestimated him. Giants are incredibly strong,” Mr. 3 grunted, “I never thought they’d be able to break my candle jacket. I’ll have to secure them more thoroughly!” Mr. 3 morphed his arm into one of his beautiful creations, “Doru Doru Atsu Ken!” A giant sword formed from Mr. 3’s arm. He slammed it down onto the back of Brogy’s hand, piercing it and pinning it to the ground while the giant was still recovering from the explosion. The candle man swiftly repeated with action with the rest of Brogy’s and Dorry’s limbs. The giants screamed in pain. Kakashi, suddenly interested, struggled against his restraints, growling angrily. He liked Dorry and Brogy. And Tou-san liked them too. How dare this man hurt Kakashi’s friends.

“Tou-san’s going to kill you for that!” The boy growled lowly, baring his teeth behind his mask. The expression was lost to Mr. 3 who simply gagged the boy, losing all patience with the child beneath him. The World Government had better pay a good amount of berries for the boy and his father because the brat was supremely irritating.

“You cruel monster!” Vivi shouted at him in anger, her glare lethal as she observed the giants and the gagged child. The candle pumpkin continued to spin and more and more off white flakes fell from the top sticking to their skin, covering their lungs when they inhaled. Zoro continued to stare contemplatively at the spinning pumpkin head. He finally came to a solution. If no one was going to save them, then he’ll do it himself.

“Hey, giants. You can still move, right?” Zoro smirked as he gazed down. “A giant without hands and feet … is still more useful than a dead man.” He took two of his swords out of the scabbards. Zoro positioned them downward towards his legs, “I can move too … if I cut off my legs. How about we crush these guys together?” Everyone gaped at the green haired swordsman.

“Your legs?! Your own LEGS?! You can’t be serious.” Nami screeched at him.

“How could you say something like that?!?” Usopp yelled with fear in his eyes.

“It’s hopeless!! Even if you do get down from here, they’ll just trap you again!!” Vivi exclaimed. He couldn’t be serious, could he? But the look of sheer determination on his face made her think differently. 

“You never know until you try, right? We’re dead if we stay here, that’s for sure. I say we go out putting up the ugliest fight we can!!” Zoro smiled widely with a manic look in his eye. Kakashi took another look at the swordsman. He admired such bravery in the face of danger, but… 

“He’s so cool, but so dumb!” Kakashi thought to himself. How could someone be so cool and dumb at the same time? Though he guessed it was possible since Jiraiya-hentai was cool, a pervert, and an idiot. Susumu-ji was just cool. 

“Let’s do it!” Dorry grinned wide enough to match Zoro’s. Brogy followed his friend. 

“GGHHHRRR!” Brogy growled as Dorry grunted. They began to struggle as Zoro’s swords flew to their target. However, they were interrupted by a loud shout and a human cannonball. 

“GRRRAHHHH!!! HEY YOU JERKS, GET READY TO DIE!” Luffy screamed as he flew across the clearing landing with a loud crash near the foliage. 

_ Sakumo POV _

It was right before entering the clearing where Dorry and Brogy usually fought that Sakumo began to feel uneasy. It was quiet, too quiet. Even if the fight was over, there still should have been booming voices and laughter echoing throughout the clearing. It was when he spotted the candle structure that Sakumo reached out to Luffy's shirt scruff and yanked him back to behind a bush at the entrance of the battlefield. From what he could see, there was a strange candle-cake structure with a Halloween pumpkin starting to spin with candles around the circumference. On the cake layers were members of Luffy's crew plus a green haired man with three swords he had never seen before. Examining the wax further revealed the tired forms of Dorry and Brogy pinned down by giant candle wax swords. Sakumo had to suppress a flash of anger at that. It couldn't be ordinary wax. With how strong Dorry and Brogy were, regular wax would have already snapped under the strain of keeping them down. In the clearing itself, there were five people, each looking stranger than the last.

A man with an afro-like haircut with sunglasses and a long, dark trench coat was picking his nose with a dark tan finger. Next to him was a woman with clothes with lemons on them and a strange circular hat. To the right of the pair, were a girl with pigtails and a paintbrush and the strangest looking man Sakumo had seen. He had a strange hairdo that was shaped like a '3' that was lit by a candle. And to his side was ... Kakashi! Sakumo sat forward more as he took in the sight of his son and had to suppress a growl as he noticed the blossoming bruises on the cub's visible face. His hand twitched and caused a fissure to form in the tree root hiding him and Luffy. How dare they even lay a hand on Kakashi! Miyako's face came into his view. Her sweat drenched her tired face as she held their son for the first and last time. Her fingers shakily trailing Kakashi's small ones as she turned to Sakumo with tears in her blue eyes.

_ Protect Kakashi for me Sakumo. _

His breath hitched as a blind white rage enveloped him. Sakumo pulled out his tanto and gripped it so tightly that it began to protest. He held back though, he needed information. It was four against two and they were dealing with five hostages. It wouldn't do anyone good, especially Kakashi, if he charged in recklessly.

"Isn't that Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine?" Luffy asked, pointing at the bugger digger and lemon lady. 

"What are their abilities?" Sakumo bit out. The tone was aggressive and low, but Luffy didn't seem to take notice.

"You already know about Mr. 5, Ms. Valentine can make herself heavy and I don't know those two." Sakumo nodded at that. A plan was quickly forming in his head. He needed to get Kakashi away from them safely and then he could unleash his fury. Eyeing the man beside him, Sakumo saw Luffy stretching his arms out like a slingshot. Quickly discerning what the pirate captain was thinking, Sakumo swiftly moved out of the way and waited for the inevitable distraction that would allow him to get to the candle man holding Kakashi.

"Gomu Gomu no," Luffy started, stretching his arms to their limit, "ROCKET!!!!!!!!" With all the grace of a lopsided Katon gone wrong, Luffy flung himself into the middle of the group, completely missing them entirely while threatening death to the group. Sakumo couldn't ask for a better distraction. As the group and hostages focused on Luffy’s flying form, Sakumo stealthily stalked up to the candle man, careful to keep his killing intent suppressed. Once he reached his target, he held the blade of his tanto on the man’s throat. He couldn't risk if the man had any dead man traps that could harm his son. He couldn't risk Kakashi's safety, not here not now when he had no Susumu or Tsunade or Jiraiya. No bright eyed blondes or crazy red heads to take care of his cub during missions.

"Release my son." Sakumo ordered in a cool tone. He directed his killing intent at the hostiles while his blade flashed menacingly at the man's throat. He heard gasping from the people around him.

"How did he move so fast?” Usopp asked shakily.

"Mr. 3!" Ms. Valentine shouted and she took in the sight of her presumed leader being taken hostage. Mr. 3' s only betrayal of nervousness was his audible swallow before bravado took its place.

"And why would I want to do that?" The man smirked despite the blade resting on his neck.

"If you want to live to see tomorrow you will." Sakumo growled as he pushed his blade to draw the barest hint of blood. He was forced to withdraw when he saw Ms. Valentine overhead him about to fall down upon him. His back was to Usopp, Nami, and Vivi on the candle cake as he surveyed his opponents. Ms. Valentine made a move to attack again only to stop.

"You idiot, we need him alive! The World Government isn't going to pay us as much for a corpse." Mr. 3 yelled at his comrade. The World Government? Dorry and Brogy had mentioned them when they told Sakumo about the world he had found himself in. But as far as Sakumo knew, no one should know about the Elemental Nations and ninja. Why would the World Government want them? It was a question to worry about later. His cub was in danger and he refused to make anything that wasn't Kakashi a priority, and now he knew that Mr. 3 wouldn't kill his cub. Luffy suddenly made his presence known by flying into and blindsiding Mr. 5 with another Gum Gum Rocket. Sakumo let the pirate captain handle Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine while he focused on Mr. 3 and his partner. His eyes glued onto Kakashi, who was gagged and restrained behind the man. His son couldn't even move his hands together for jutsu. Rage building he poured chakra into his blade, the tanto glowed a dull white as he held it in front of him tilted at a forty-five degree angle. Then, slashing swiftly and gracefully across he performed his most basic and iconic kenjutsu.

"Shiroi Kiba!" he yelled as the chakra flung off the blade in a pure white arc. Mr. 3 was quick to defend as a wax wall went up to block the attack. The streak of white chakra sliced through the wax like butter as the man barely ducked in time to keep his head from being cut off. Sakumo didn't let the lull phase him as he immediately shushined to Mr. 3, his tanto poused to ram into his head when he noticed a black seal on the ground in front of him. Sakumo barely dodged as the girl with the paintbrush attempted to draw something on his back. Mr. 3 tsked as he regained his composure and grabbed Kakashi. Sakumo saw red and made to attack again, but stopped when Mr. 3 held up an open flame to his son's face. 

"Let him go, you coward!" He heard Vivi screech from behind him on the candle cake, but her voice barely registered as Sakumo took in the sight of his child with an open flame dangerously close to his face. Rationally, he knew Kakashi had seen and been through worse. Even though Kakashi was a genin and had seen death and gore no five-year-old should have, he was still his precious son. The only good thing to come out of his pathetic excuse of a life. 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Mr. 3 grinned as Kakashi tried to squirm away from the flame. Sakumo felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest. 

"You wouldn't dare." Sakumo snarled, sounding more like the wolves his ancestors summoned rather than the human he was. His teeth were bared underneath his mask.

"Oh, I won't kill him, but if you want your son to remain in one piece you'll surrender." Mr. 3 demanded. Sakumo growled deep and long as he considered his options. As much as he hated the very idea of surrendering to this wretched man, the man who had hurt his son, he knew that Kakashi's safety would be forfeit if he didn't. With the flame held so closely to his son's face, it was more likely that Sakumo would hurt the boy if he even attempted to shunshin close to them. Kakashi's eyes were wide and appeared to assert themselves in a sort of grim determination to not give in. His son pleaded with his eyes not to surrender, but Sakumo knew his son. He could see the fear Kakashi was hiding so valiantly clear as day, and Sakumo's heart and resolve cracked even further. Miyako's pale and sweaty face entered into his mind again.

_ Protect Kakashi for me Sakumo _ .

Luckily the choice was made for him as Ms. Valentine flew into Mr. 3 from the side. It broke the man's concentration enough to extinguish the flame and left Kakashi unharmed. Sakumo didn't waste any time to retrieve his child, though still bound. He held Kakashi close as the beats of the boy's heart steadied after his fright. He heard a sigh of relief from Vivi on the candle cake. Sakumo couldn't help but feel elated at the thought that someone was relieved that he succeeded, that a stranger would have so much care for his rude, perfect little boy. Kakashi was still trapped in the restraints though, Sakumo moved to cut them away when he heard a shout.

"Luffy, get off of that!" Nami shouted. Sakumo looked towards the pirate captain to see that he was standing on the seal trap from before. The man's face was changed as an indifferent expression overcame him. Sakumo frowned, while he didn't know Luffy all that well, he could tell this was abnormal behavior for the man. Then he noticed the black seal-like symbol at Luffy's feet. He tensed and held Kakashi closer to him, unsure of the purpose of the trap.

"Ms. Goldenweek, this is your handiwork, isn't it?" He heard Vivi yell from across the clearing. Sakumo frowned at the state the four on the candle cake were in. Apparently knocking out Mr. 3 wasn't enough to dissipate the structure and stop them from turning into candles. The little girl with pigtails, Ms. Goldenweek started to munch on a snack, but otherwise gave no hint to her true emotions. The downfall of the rest of her comrades didn't seem to phase which worried Sakumo. Either she was stronger than she seemed, there was still a back up plan, or this was a bluff.

"It's my Colors Trap-Betrayal Black. The black paint makes people want to betray their friends." Ms. Goldenweek answered and explained somewhat unnecessarily. And why would she give away what the trap did? Sakumo couldn't help but wonder if she was related to the Uzumaki Clan. 

"What does she mean by colors?! How is she doing that to Luffy?" Nami shouted out loud. Sakumo continued to stand still and keep a wary eye on both Luffy and Ms. Goldenweek while carefully cutting through Kakashi's bonds with his tanto coated in white chakra. 

"That girl is an artist who can accurately recreate the colors of emotions. She uses paint to make refined color images that hypnotize people." Vivi explained. Sakumo was grateful she was a reliable source of information on these people. But he'll have to get answers out of this group. Even unintentionally, they brought trouble to his son and put him in harm's way.

"Wait, so then that means that the weak minded can easily fall for the trap?!" Usopp exclaimed, again, unnecessarily. Luckily Sakumo had the patience of the Sage, though he had to with a son that decided his teenage rebellion began at the age of three. Sakumo momentarily lamented the fact that Kakashi would become an actual teenager at some point and shuddered at the thought. 

"Dammit, that means Luffy doesn't stand a chance." Sakumo inwardly sweatdropped at the green haired swordsman's words. They certainly knew their captain well. Though weak minded or not, from what Sakumo had seen Luffy was definitely at least high chunin or low jounin level. And since Sakumo had not really had an opportunity to test if his strength was back up to where it had been before wasting away, he would have to be careful. Especially so since he didn't really want to hurt the man. Kakashi stood no chance against him.

"Stay near me." Sakumo ordered silently, "And keep your guard up." 

"Yes, Tou-san." Kakashi said, his voice even and controlled. Sakumo handed him a kunai from his pouch since they appeared to have taken Kakashi's. His little cub held it in a defensive reverse grip as father and son observed the situation.

"I don't feel like saving you guys anymore!" Luffy shouted at the people on the candle cake. He moved onto Sakumo and Kakashi, "And you're not invited to my crew anymore." Well at least he wasn't attacking, though Sakumo had to wonder.

"We didn't want to join your stupid crew." Kakashi muttered under his breath. Sakumo gently nudged his son in reprimand when an idea suddenly occurred to him.

"Luffy-san, I wish for you to attack me." Sakumo stated. He could practically feel the confusion by everyone else until the brighter members of the caught on to what he was testing. 

"Alright then, I won't attack you." Luffy huffed with a superior air and arms crossed looking he belonged in the theatre. Sakumo was horrifyingly reminded of Jiraiya and quickly dismissed that mental comparison from his head. Ms. Goldenweek had yet to move from her snacking spot. Sakumo's assumption that she would be difficult to defeat was quickly deteriorating. It seemed her traps were very literal which could be easily taken advantage of.

"Don't step out of the trap, Luffy." Nami yelled at her captain. Sure enough, the rubber man dutifully stepped out of the trap to suddenly regain his senses.

“Huh?!” Luffy yelled while looking around himself, “Something was wrong with me just then, but I’ll save you guys now.” Luffy started to swing his arm around before bursting out in loud guffaws. 

“WHAT NOW???!!” The four on the cake stated in perfect unison. Sakumo admitted to himself he was surprised at their coordination. 

“Colors Trap-Laughter Yellow.” Ms. Goldenweek stated monotonously. Sakumo spotted the yellow seal on Luffy’s shirt and just whipped it off. The paint was still wet, so it was splattered all over the back of the red shirt. Sakumo hoped it wouldn’t stain as he wiped the paint off his hand. He looked at Ms. Goldenweek who was still nonchalantly munching on her snack.

“You don’t seem to care that we defeated your teammates.” Sakumo remarked, completely flummoxed by the girl in front of him. She merely shrugged before flinging black paint at him. The paint formed the same symbol that was on the ground when she took control of Luffy. Sakumo could feel a slight tug in his mind to comply with the symbol’s purpose, but it was nothing compared to mentally defending yourself from a Yamanaka. Sakumo eye smiled before swiftly knocking her unconscious and rubbing the symbol off.

“Thanks, old man.” Luffy grinned widely at him, “I would have been a goner without you.” Sakumo inwardly sweat dropped again. Did he just admit to being an idiot? Luffy blinked.

“Don’t worry guys, I’ll break you out.” Luffy yelled to his crew.

“Hurry, we’re almost made of wax!” Nami shouted and Sakumo looked over. And sure enough, all four appeared to be almost entirely made of wax, and the green haired one was … posing? Sakumo decided not to question it.

“Okay, no I’m really mad!” He heard Mr. 3 yell. The man was covered in bruises and the flame on the top of his head was raging, “Attack! Candle Champion!” Candle wax formed around Mr. 3. The flame on his three shaped hair flared even more as the candle wax armor. In Sakumo’s opinion, the armor was a bit ostentatious with spikes around the shoulders and wide chest plate and skinny torso. The thing looked extremely top heavy. 

“He once took down a criminal worth 42 million berries with that thing.” Mr. 5 commented, coming out of the brush looking bruised and battered. Berries? Ah, right these people’s currency. Though he didn’t know exactly what the statement was meant to convey, it must be impressive based on how Mr. 5 used it.

“That’s Mr. 3’s masterpiece!” Me. Valentine added. If he was really that powerful ... Sakumo nicked his thumb and took out a scroll. Quickly unfurling it and sliding his bleeding thumb along its length, Sakumo began to concentrate his chakra. It had been quite awhile since he had summoned his pack. He could practically feel Kakashi’s excitement behind him. After he had been blacklisted from every babysitter in the village, Sakumo had resorted to using his ninken as minders to his son and, as a result, his son became quite fond of them. Especially Sakura. Once the scroll was dry after some fancy twirling, Sakumo rerolled it and did the requisite hand seals. 

“Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” Sakumo called out while slamming the scroll to the ground. Black markings danced out from the scroll to from decorated circles and lines originating from the center. A puff of smoke surrounded him as the pack came into existence. 

“SO COOL!!!” Luffy had had stars in his eyes at both the battle armor and the eight dogs that were suddenly in the clearing. There was the leader of the pack Yukiko and her cub Hachi. A Shiba like his mother, Hachi had caramel coloring on his back with a slow gradient turning it white on his belly and on his tail. Being the youngest of the pack, he stuck close to his mother. To her right was Koda, Yukiko’s second in command. Koda was a large husky with black and white coloring. All three of them wore brown backwards scarfs with the Hatake Clan symbol on them. In front and center was Sakura, a little toy poodle with bright pink fur reminiscent of her namesake with the diamond symbol tied around her neck with a bright hot pink scarf. Behind Sakura was a brown and black German Shepard named Doitsu. His ears were perked up and muzzle set in a snarl and the olive green vest with the Hatake Clan symbol was clearing visible to Mr. 3 as Doitsu prepared to strike. Next to Doitsu was a golden retriever that was holding his head up high. Kinrou was basking in the gawking stares from both the pirate crew and their opponents in front of them and flaunted the pristine light blue vest with their clan’s symbol. Supotto the Dalmatian was hanging back poking at a piece of grass with his front paw, black vest hanging loosely from his thin form. A large brown and white pit bull was next to Sakura in the line up. Amai let Sakura take up most of the spotlight while she hung back, smoothing out her blue vest. 

“How did he?” He heard someone mutter before Yukiko addressed him.

“Sakumo, what’s the situation?” She asked him. Eyeing the strange scene in front of her. 

“Three hostiles, four captives. Sakura, Yukiko, Hachi, and Supotto, you handle those two over there. The rest of you are with me. Luffy,” Sakumo turned and the tone of his voice got the captain’s full attention, “you free your crew and Dorry and Brogy.” Luffy nodded determinately as Sakumo faced down the candle man, “Kakashi, you go help Luffy.” Sakumo could feel his son’s glare, but he was happy when his cub acquiesced and followed the rubber man.

Third POV

The four on the candle cake were still trying to process what just happened. Where did Sakumo get those dogs from? Vivi was in shock. She had never heard about abilities like this before. Zoro was more and more excited about this mystery man the others seemed to know. While he wasn’t a true swordsman, he still used a blade. Zoro couldn’t help but admit he wanted to know what that move was. It looked similar to what he could do with his swords, but it seemed to have a physical component to it. It was more like energy rather than displaced air. 

Nami and Usopp on the other hand, were more focused on their imminent doom.

“Hurry up, Luffy!” Nami struggled to move her mouth to yell at the pirate captain. She was panicking as the wax restricted her breathing.

“Gomu Gomu no,” Luffy’s arm stretched back, “PISTOL!” The arm snapped forward like a rubber band and smashed into the pumpkin head on top of the cake. The wax shattered under the force and came raining down in chunks. Only then did Luffy realize the danger those chunks could pose, “My bad.” He simply stated as one of the candle chunks missed crushing Usopp to death by a mere hairwidth. 

“YOU ASSHOLE!” Usopp found the strength to yell, “ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?” 

Kakashi scoffed in annoyance. Was Tou-san really considering joining this idiot’s crew? Even the crybaby Uchiha back in the Academy wasn’t this bad. Seeing the wax wasn’t going anywhere soon, Kakashi got an idea. He started making hand signs and concentrated very hard. Horse, Tiger, Serpent, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, and then ending on Tiger. Kakashi brought a hand to his mouth and carefully molded his chakra in his stomach. He folded it and baked it within himself as he performed the jutsu.

“Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!” Kakashi shouted and he blew out the heated chakra. Fire sprang from his mouth to the alarm of everyone. The fireball was wide, but not hot enough to melt flesh. It was warm enough, however, to melt the wax trapping the four crew members and initially helping the giants to free themselves.

“YOU BRAT!” Nami yelled, covered in soot. 

“That’s not how you’re supposed to thank someone who saved your life.” Kakashi deadpanned, putting as much sass as he possibly could into the sentence. 

“It looks like I’ll be needing medical attention after all.” Zoro stated, looking at his profusely bleeding legs, “Think you could do that again and cauterize the wound, brat?” Kakashi looked towards Zoro with something like admiration in his eyes, though the boy didn’t want to admit that whenever he used the Goukakyuu perfectly it was a small miracle. He just hoped Tou-san was able to see him perform it.

“No.” Kakashi finally answered. Even if he wanted to, his chakra pool was not large enough to perform multiple big fireballs like that yet. Tou-san would ground him for life if he passed out from chakra exhaustion here. He sat down as he watched Tou-san and his pack fight. It was rare that he was able to witness it. 

“Should we help them?” Nami asked while digging out her staff. Zoro put his hands on his swords but stopped when Kakashi answered.

“Tou-san has his pack out. He’ll win for sure.” Kakashi answered with the unquestioning faith in their parents that only a young child could have. It was one of the few times the crew glimpsed the child underneath the hard grown exterior the boy put out.

Meanwhile, Sakura, Yukiko, Hachi and Supotto faced off against Ms. Valentine and Mr. 5. Yukiko observed her opponents and scoffed. Sakumo was being too cautious again. He was such a worrywart constantly underestimating himself and overestimating his opponents. These two looked like chunin could take them on easily, and Yukiko was used to fighting jounin level opponents or facing off enemy ANBU. It looked like she had to smack Sakumo across the back of his head again with her paw. 

“Hachi, you take the woman. Sakura,” before Yukiko could finish her statement, the toy poodle cut her off.

“I’ll take the bastard.” She growled in her high pitched voice, “He looks like a pussy.” Said pussy was gaping at the dogs. Mr. 5 had several thoughts running through his head. Why were the dogs talking? Ms. Valentine was having a similar internal crisis. Why was a fluffy tiny pink poodle cussing them out? 

“Alright,” Yukiko sent a pointed glare at Sakura who only scoffed in return, “Supotto, you help Hachi while I’ll assist Sakura. Formation Beta-Gamma-5…...GOO!” Yukiko yelled out her command. The four dogs separated to their targets that finally snapped out of their talking dog induced shock. Sakura made the first move by barrelling towards Mr. 5. Before the man could make a move, she headbutted him directly on the chest. The force of the tiny poodle’s attack was enough to make Mr. 5 spit up blood. He attempted to blow air and explode it near the poodle, but Sakura quickly shunshined out of the way. Yukiko, who had gone unnoticed, snuck behind the bomb man and struck her paws hard on the man’s knee joints. Mr. 5’s knees gave out as Sakura kicked him on the back of the head. It was very anti climatic.

The same could be said with Ms. Valentine’s fight with Hachi and Supotto. The shiba and dalmation simply waited for her to use her Devil Fruit. They just observed as she flew in the sky and dropped down again at high speed. The attack was predictable enough that Supotto actually yawned as she got back up again. 

“Do you just want to end this?” Hachi asked his companion. The dalmation yawned again.

“Yeah, I need to take my nap anyway.” When Ms. Valentine attempted again to crush the two ninken under her weight, Supotto kicked her in the face with his rear leg. The woman had a paw shaped red spot on her forehead as she fell back unconscious. The dalmation lazily walked over to Yukiko and Sakura before laying down. Hachi was busy burying Ms. Valentine like she was a particularly prized bone. Yukiko didn’t bother to try to correct the behavior in her pup. He deserved the entertainment after a completely underwhelming fight.

“So, am I punishing Sakumo for summoning us for such a weakling or are you?” Sakura snarked, poking at the unconscious Baroque Works member. Yukiko sighed.

“His puppy’s here, it’s likely he’s being over protective again.” Yukiko answered, “There will be no punishments this time.”

“Kashi-chan’s here, eh?” Sakura sniffed around until she located the direction to where the boy was. The poodle wagged her tail before gaining a more serious expression, “Sakumo’s not being his normal self.”

“He smells different. He’s more stressed than normal.” Supotto put in his comment before lying his head in between his front paws. 

“Ah,” Yukiko, who was Sakumo’s primary summon, mused, “He didn’t notice perfume used to dull his senses. He severely overestimated his opponents. Even with his temporary weakness he could’ve easily taken all three of these imbeciles by himself at once.” Yukiko trailed off as she observed her summoner and long time friend fight. He was hesitating. To the average observer, it would look like swift and concise bladwork. However, to Yukiko, who had known Sakumo since he was a little older than Kakashi, there were pauses and hesitations plainly visible. The second guessing that occurred caused his movements to be more sluggish than they usually were. Sakura scoffed.

“Just what is he doing?” She asked. Yukiko had no answer for her. 

Mr. 3 barely dodged another jab meant for his head from Sakumo’s tanto. The dogs had effectively made maneuvering around in his armor impossible. Any time he came close to one, a dog would attack the skinny legs of the armor and allow the top heavy chest whip around his body as Sakumo struck. Whenever Mr. 3 would try to retaliate with a punch or attack of his own. Sakumo or one of the Ninken would dodge and allow the weight of the armor to work against him. The battle, or one sided tussle, came to a head rather quickly as Sakumo went full force against Mr. 3. Kakashi wasn’t there for the man to hide behind anymore. 

Sakumo brought back his tanto and gathered white chakra into the blade. He brought the blade to his front, and swiftly thrust it forward into the armor. The candle wax shattered as Sakumo stood ominously above the now stuttering and bumbling man. All of Mr. 3’s confidence was shattered along with his armor as he stared down to by a feral dog, no wolf. He could practically hear the snarling and imagine the bared teeth behind the man’s mask. He felt fear for the first time when that horrifying figure loomed over him with the blade at his neck, ready to draw blood.

“Wait!” Vivi’s shout echoed in Sakumo’s mind. He almost didn’t register it as he paused in the retribution he was going to give to the man in front of him for daring to hurt his son.

“What?” Sakumo questioned softly, not moving from his spot. Vivi swallowed before regaining her composure and continuing. 

“Don’t kill him.” She stated firmly, she would not have more death than necessary happen in front of her when she could stop it.

“And why should I do such a thing?” Sakumo pushed the tanto slightly into Mr. 3’s neck. The man let out a soft whimper to which Sakumo inwardly scoffed, “This man threatened my son’s, I need to get rid of the threat before he returns with greater numbers.” The statement was cold and logical.

“But your son’s still here, will you honestly tell me that you’ll let him watch you kill a man?!” Vivi questioned him, “I have no love for Baroque Works, but I will not sit idly by while you kill someone in front of your own child.” Kakashi looked up, offended at the blue haired woman’s statement.

“Kakashi will be fine with it, he’s seen death before.” Sakumo answered vaguely to the horror of everyone else. 

“How could you ….” Vivi stuttered and then narrowed her eyes, “You’ve killed in front of him before.” It wasn’t a statement, more of an accusation.

“Of course.” Sakumo’s anger faded a bit in his confusion. It was normal even for civilian children to see at least one dead body before their teen years. Especially since Kakashi had been a genin for the better part of the year. His first C Rank ended up with him killing a bandit. 

“Don’t you see how wrong that is!?” She shouted at him. Why was he taking this so nonchalantly? In what world would something like this be fine? No wonder Kakashi hadn’t been phased at being held against his will. She shuddered in the thought that it wasn’t the most horrifying event the child had been through. 

“It’s normal where we come from.” Well, Kakashi’s skill wasn’t exactly normal for his age group, but Konoha had always determined age to maturity and ability rather than an arbitrary number. The clearing was silent for several moments before Zoro spoke up.

“You’ve already won, just let them be. It’s not like they’re much of a threat anyway.” Zoro stated nonchalantly with his arms crossed. Sure, he wasn’t above killing his opponents, but doing so in front of a little kid was out of the question. 

“Let the Marines take care of them or leave them here on the island.” Nami finished with a nod from Usopp next to her. Sakumo, still holding a blade to Mr. 3’s neck, looked around the clearing at the crew and his son. Kakashi was looking up in wide eyed confusion. Luffy seemed to be staring at him with a pensive look on his face. He was waiting for what Sakumo would decide. Sakumo looked at his prisoner. While it was true that the man truly wasn’t that difficult to take down, he still hurt Kakashi. Glancing again at the crew, Sakumo saw in their eyes that they would try to stop him if he did kill the useless waste of space at the edge of his blade. Not wanting to potentially offend a future ally, Sakumo sighed noisily as he turned to Mr. 3.

“If I catch you anywhere near my son or I again, there’ll be nothing left of you to bury.” Sakumo threatened with all his anger and desire to kill this man leaking through as killing intent. The man shivered and frantically nodded his head. Sakumo put an end to the display by swiftly punching the man in the face. Mr. 3 fell to the ground, his face a bloody mess, as Sakumo unsummoned his ninken. 

“Why didn’t you kill the pervert?” Kakashi asked petulantly. Sakumo ruffled his hair to the boy’s irritation, but didn’t give him a response. In truth, he didn’t quite know himself. While it was true he didn’t want to alienate the only allies he had found, he had a feeling that it wasn’t the whole reason. He spotted Luffy grinning widely at him.

  
  


“Thank you for saving our lives, Sakumo.” Brogy sat with Dorry, their hands wrapped in large bandages, “And also to you little Strawhat.”

“HOHOHOH! We completely forgot that we had bounties on our head!” Dorry laughed. Kakashi huffed.

“How do you forget something like that?” He snarked. Sakumo shushed him gently and continued to heal his wounds with a simple medical ninjutsu. He was happy that Kakashi only had minor easy to heal bruises. Sakumo tried not to think about Tsunade’s teaching  torture methods when she forced them all to learn at least basic medical ninjutsu. 

“You can do magic healing too?” Luffy gawked at the green glow healing the bruises on Kakashi. Sakumo smiled even as Kakashi snorted.

“It isn’t magic. I’m simply using my chakra, spiritual and physical energy, to accelerate the natural healing of the cells in the boy.” Sakumo explained patiently, “I’m not very talented in it, so I can only heal small cuts and bruises.”

“So it’s a mystery power.” Luffy concluded. The old man was so awesome, he definitely had to join his crew. And Kakashi reminded him a lot of when he and Ace were younger with Sabo. Vivi observed the two giants and the two Hatake. She bit her lip before walking towards them.

“I’m sorry. They were only here to kill me. I’m sorry you all got involved …” She took a breath before continuing, “because of me, Kakashi, Dorry and Brogy got hurt and …” Nami pulled at her cheek and stopped her from going further.

“Don’t say that.” She stated.

“She’s right about that, don’t worry Vivi. Want a rice cracker?” Luffy offered with stuffed cheeks. Usopp nodded beside him, stuffing his face with the crackers pilfered from Ms. Goldenweek. 

“No one’s mad at you.” Nami finished as if Luffy didn’t interrupt her.

“I’m not angry with you.” Sakumo admitted, “You don’t control the actions of your adversaries, but I think we deserve an explanation.” Sakumo sent a pointed look, somehow managing to convey it even with more than half of his face covered. Kakashi looked up and tried to copy his father’s look at the. Vivi had to suppress the smile at the cuteness the boy conveyed. 

“Alright then, but please you cannot tell anyone about this.” Vivi took a breath and began her story, “My full name is Nefertari Vivi. And I am the next in line for the kingdom of Alabasta.” She hesitated before elaborating, “I’m the only royal in line for my country. Those men and women are part of an organization called Baroque Works that is trying to take control of Alabasta. In order to do that, they have orchestrated a civil war against the monarchy in order to take control of the government. I infiltrated their organization to find out their plan and I must return home as soon as possible to save my country.” She ended firmly. 

“I see.” Sakumo stated. He had had many missions before similar to hers. Both for taking down and protecting both good and bad governments. He tilted his head like a dog before a thought occurred to him, “how soon do you need to get home?” 

“What? As soon as possible.” Vivi answered. 

“Oh, do you have an eternal pose?” Sakumo asked, “If not, you’re going to be stuck here a year.” 

“He’s right.” Nami stated solemnly, “It takes a whole year for the log pose to set here.” 

“A year? That’s no good.” Zoro understated. 

“I’ll say, we’re in real trouble.” Nami added. Vivi just stood silently. Her mind racing, was her country going to die? They couldn’t make it in time. Her face fell into despair. Luffy noticed the look on her face. He turned towards the giants with an accusatory air.

“Isn’t there something you can do?” Luffy asked, pointing at the giants with his index finger. He wouldn’t allow one of his crewmates to be sad.

“Are you kidding? Even we can’t control a log pose.” Dorry stated. Luffy turned his finger to point at Sakumo.

“What about your magic. You can make dogs appear, can’t you?” Sakumo sweatdropped at the logic.

“That isn’t something within my power.” Sakumo admitted, “And I don't see how dogs can be related to log poses.” He was interrupted by a crash and a booming voice.

“NAAAMMMIII-SWAN! VIVI-CCHWWAN! And you guys. You’re all safe, thank goodness!” A strange man with a curly eyebrow ran with a stupid look on his face. Sakumo tensed subconsciously as the strange man ran towards them. Nami only sighed and Vivi laughed nervously. 

“Hey Sanji!” Luffy greeted, unknowingly causing Sakumo to relax. Sanji looked towards Sakumo and did a double-take.

“Hey, are you Mr. 3?” Sanji asked. Sakumo’s eyes narrowed at the name as he growled out a no. 

“How do you know about Mr. 3?” Nami asked. When the blonde man saw her, his eyes turned to heart as he exclaimed her beauty. Kakashi examined the newcomer with suspicious eyes. He sounded a lot like Jiraiya-hentai whenever he talked to a girl he called pretty. He even had the same hearts in his eyes. Kakashi decided then and there that the man would forever be known as Sanji-hentai.

“I spoke with Mr. 0” Sanji stated as he gathered his composure and put on his cool-guy persona complete with a lit cigarette. Unfortunately for him, Kakashi had already decided he was too much of a pervert to be cool. Sakumo didn’t exactly approve of the man either, just like he forbade Jiraiya from babysitting Kakashi after the Red Light District incident. 

“You spoke to Mr. 0?” Vivi asked, coming out of her stupor.

“That’s right, he thought I was Mr. 3. I told him we were dead.” Sanji stated, taking a drag from his cigarette and releasing the smoke into the air.

“Then that means …” Vivi began.

“Baroque Works is off our trail, but we’re still stuck on this island!” Usopp finished with tears of frustration. 

“We’re stuck, what’s up with that? We have this now.” Sanji corrected while holding up the eternal pose to Alabasta. The rest of the crew stared slack jawed at him. Sakumo’s opinion of Sanji increased slightly. It seems the man wasn’t a total idiot, at least he seemed smarter than Jiraiya.

_ Elemental Nations _

_ Unknown Location _

Jiraiya of the Sannin’s nose twitched as he let out a loud and dramatic sneeze again for many times that day. Someone must be talking about him. Maybe it was Tsunade and Orochimaru finally understanding the greatness of his future writing career. He wondered if they would be open to ideas he could put in his books for the future. He grinned perversely, lost in the thoughts of his future glorious writing as he headed towards the nearest bathhouse for ‘research’.

_ Little Garden  _

_ Third POV _

“Thank you Sanji!” Vivi yelled as he hugged the blonde to his great delight, “I’d almost lost hope!”

“How convenient!” Sakumo put his hands together as he eye smiled. Kakashi tilted his head.

“Wait a minute, why did those people come after you?” Kakashi questioned.

“I just explained why.” Vivi answered, but the boy shook his head.

“If they wanted to stop you from reaching Alabasta, why would they just not trap you on Little Garden since you didn’t have an eternal pose?” The boy questioned. All that answered him was the silence of the adults.

“It is in my experience, Kakashi, that most criminals of lower rank don’t think things through that well.” Sakumo cheerfully explained, ruffling his son’s hair. Sanji looked towards the two silver haired people and questioned.

“Who are they?” He asked the rest of his crew. Luffy grinned broadly.

“He’s Sakumo and that’s his son, Kakashi. He can use magic and summon talking dogs. He’s going to be our new tracker and hunt down treasure for us.” Luffy cheerfully exclaimed. 

“Oh?” Sanji said, looking towards the latest victims of his captain’s aggressive recruitment. They didn’t look that impressive, and he really didn’t know what to make of the weird clothing and looks. Sakumo merely chuckled.

“I don’t remember agreeing to become a member of your crew.” Sakumo countered, mirth clear in his eyes.

“That won’t work with him.” Zoro grunted, remembering his own recruitment into the crew. It consisted mostly of Luffy blackmailing him and pestering him into joining. It was proven with Luffy’s enthusiastic affirmation and nod. Still, Sakumo simply shook his head and let out a tired sigh.

“Oh, you don’t want me. I’ll just fail.” Sakumo stated sadly. His eyes gained a distant gleam and seemed to droop down. Kakashi frowned and looked towards his father with an unreadable expression. The rest of the people there only stared at him in confusion.

“Fail, you’re incredibly strong.” Nami asked. She didn’t get it, this guy was easily on Luffy’s level. Why was he saying he’d fail at being a member of the crew. 

“Yeah, you took down those Baroque Works guys like they were nothing.” Usopp added. He was one of the weakest people here and though he sometimes felt he could do more; he was still a valued member of the crew. Though they were all unnerved by the look Sakumo was giving. He seemed to be looking through them and not at them. As if they weren’t even there. 

“Tou-san,” Kakashi tugged at his father’s pant leg snapping Sakumo out of whatever he had been thinking of. The genin had found that it was the best way to get his father out of whatever occupied his mind. Silence stretched until it was broken the one of the giants.

“But Sakumo, they could take you home.” Dorry brought up, peering down at his little friend. Sakumo got a thoughtful look on his face.

“Home?” Vivi asked. Sakumo observed her before sighing again. It was something he only just realized he was doing a lot of.

“I think you can tell that Kakashi and I aren’t from Little Garden,” Sakumo paused to order the thoughts in his head before continuing, “We are from Konohagakure in the Land of Fire. You wouldn’t happen to have heard of it, would you?” He asked hopefully at the end. If any one of them had heard of the shinobi village Sakumo would be one step closer to getting home. The first step would be to find out where in the world it was. The White Fang’s heart sank as he saw the confused expressions dotting the Strawhats faces. 

“Konohagakure? What an odd name for a village.” Vivi said to herself. She had never heard of such a place so either it was undiscovered or it was not very relevant. The princess turned towards the navigator to see if she knew.

“I’ve never heard or seen a place like that.” Nami muttered to herself. It wasn’t on any of the maps and data that Arlong had forced on her of the Grand Line or anything in the East Blue, “but why would you want to return to a place like …”

“It’s home.” Sakumo interrupted, not wanting to start that conversation up again.

“So it’s a mystery island.” Luffy confirmed, “A mystery island of magic people.”

“It’s on a small continent, surrounded by four larger countries.” Sakumo corrected, hoping that adding detail would help in the search. 

“Continent?” Nami asked again to herself. The only continent that she knew of was the Red Line, “Most of the world is undiscovered, is there anything around it or about it that might help us to see if it's even in the Grand Line?” She continued louder, directing the question towards Sakumo.

“The seas and winds become calm shortly out of the continent. To the point where we just never decided to explore beyond.” Sakumo explained, seeing where the navigator was heading. Nami’s eyes finally lit up on something she could extract from Sakumo’s statements.

“So it definitely is near or in the Calm Belt. I’m guessing it should be on the Grand Line if it’s only near the Calm Belts, but if it’s inside then I’m afraid we can’t help you.” Nami finished. She wished she could give Sakumo a more definitive answer, but while the Grand Line was often believed to be the most undiscovered and unknown stretch of water she would argue that it was actually the Calm Belts. The only people with access to them were the Marines and compasses and log poses did not always work on those parts of the world. Therefore, only a handful of islands in the Calm Belts were known and usually only the Marines traveled to them. 

Sakumo observed Nami for a moment, gauging her honesty. He frowned and thought. If they were on the Grand Line, surely there would be stories and legends at least about people like him. As much as shinobi and kunoichi prided themselves at being silent assassins, it was often that the most powerful of them garnered a lot of attention. Whether it be through sheer battle prowess (himself), infamy at the bathhouses (Jiraiya), pure destruction (Susumu), violent medical tendencies (Tsunade), or creepiness (Orochimaru) the most powerful ninja were known even outside of their countries. There were also the samurai of the Land of Iron. Sakumo had met one known as the Manslayer in battle once when his team accidentally landed themselves into samurai territory. They gathered just as much infamy as the shinobi.

“Have any of you ever heard of ninja or samurai?” Sakumo asked as a last effort. His heart lit up at their recognition.

“I’ve heard of samurai from Wano Country.” Vivi answered, “They’re isolated from the rest of the world and I have heard of ninja from them so maybe …” Vivi saw Sakumo’s eyes narrow in determination. 

“Then we shall go to Wano Country.” Sakumo stated simply with a nod from Kakashi. The boy would never admit it, but he was starting to miss everyone at home. Even the crybaby Uchiha and Gai which was saying a lot. Most of all he missed Minato-sensei. He hoped the blonde wasn’t getting into trouble without him.

“WHAT?” Vivi shouted, “It’s near the end of the Grand Line. In the New World across from the Red Line. There’s no way you’re going to get there!” 

“Nope!” Luffy cut in before Sakumo could, “I’m going to be King of the Pirates. For me to become king, I have to sail the whole Grand Line.” Luffy grinned as he turned to Sakumo and Kakashi, “I can drop you guys off along the way there, SHISHISHISHI!” Luffy laughed. Sakumo thought about it for a bit. His best bet would really be to stick with this crew. He doubted that Konoha would like it if he brought down the Marines and World Government onto them when the Third Shinobi War was likely beginning in earnest now. 

“Alright, Kakashi and I will join your crew in order to get home.” Sakumo added the last bit just to be clear to the man that they wouldn’t be permanent members. 

“Really?” Kakashi looked at him with disbelief.

“Welcome to the crew, I guess.” Sanji didn’t really give the two men that much thought. 

“This is going to be interesting.” Zoro grinned. And for some reason, Sakumo had the feeling he had made the right decision.

_ Grand Line _

_ Unknown Location _

A black Den Den Mushi sat on the table next to a man with three cigars hanging out of his mouth. He glared at the snail in front of him, eavesdropping on a conversation going on nearby while his second in command, a short haired woman with glasses, stood rubbing the back of her head. Tashigi had been admiring a sword she had recently acquired on the Grand Line from a nefarious criminal they had just caught when her captain had called for her to listen to the intercepted message and smacked her on the back of the head when she ignored him.

“kkkrrkk … zzk … did you ...zzzk … Princess Vivi and … Strawhats? … kkkrrrk … yes … mission accomp-- … bzzt.” the snail spoke from the other line. The quality was not good so they must have been a bit off from the source of the transmission. But one word struck out to Tashigi.

“The Strawhats!” She gasped, looking towards her captain for more information.

“Yes, the transmission was garbled, but we can make out four key points.” He blew out a large plume of smoke from his mouth, “Princess Vivi. Strawhats. Mr. 0. Mission Accomplished.” He listed off.

“Mr. 0. Is he connected to Mr. 11? That dubious swordsman we captured recently?” Tashigi asked Captain Smoker.

“Maybe. If 11 is his codename he could be getting direct orders from some criminal organization.” Smoker elaborated, glaring down at their captive. The man scoffed.

“Mr. 0? Criminal Organization? Glad to see that the Marines partake in conspiracy theories now, there’s no such thing!” The man assured, remaining calm even though he was tied to a mast.

“Oh,” Smoker intoned, his narrow eyes growing even narrower, “Then explain the orders we found in your pocket.” Mr. 11 began to sweat.

“Wh-what!!?? I-I was sure I burned them!” He exclaimed foolishly. Smoker gained an innocent look to his eye, or as innocent as someone like him could look.

“Gotcha, there was nothing in your pockets.” Smoker calmly told the increasingly panicked man. Returning to his office, he and Tashigi continued their conversation, “Princess Vivi, she’s the missing princess of Alabasta.” Smoker stated.

“Alabasta is in the grip of rebellion. Do you think a criminal organization and the Strawhats are somehow involved?” Tashigi asked her superior. Personally, she thought there was an obvious connection especially with that Den Den Mushi intercepting that message. 

“I don’t know, but this is our first clue about the Strawhats’ whereabouts.” Smoker glared ahead.

“Then are we …?” Tashigi trailed off as Captain Smoker nodded.

“Aye. Contact headquarters and get an eternal pose to Alabasta.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you have it. I was going to have more stuff in this chapter but then Sakumo had to take the spotlight and ruin part of my outline. Now I have to push things back a chapter. Next time, look forward to Drum Island!

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here it is. Hoped you enjoyed it. Updates will be erratic (because that's how I write unfortunately) so sorry in advance.


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